The relationship of physical activity and overweight to objectively measured green space accessibility and use
By E. Coombes, Andrew P. Jones, M. Hillsdon. Social Science & Medicine (1967), 2010
741 citations recorded by the source corpus.
This study examines the association between objectively measured access to green space, frequency of green space use, physical activity, and the probability of being overweight or obese in the city of Bristol, England. Data from the Bristol Quality of Life in your Neighbourhood survey for 6,821 adults were combined with a comprehensive GIS database of neighbourhood and green space characteristics.. A range of green space accessibility measures were computed. Associations between accessibility and the odds of respondents achieving a recommended 30 minutes or more of moderate activity five times a week, or being overweight or obese, were examined using logistic regression. Results showed that the reported frequency of green space use declined with increasing distance. The study also found that respondents living closest to the type of green space classified as a Formal park were more likely to achieve the physical activity recommendation and less likely to be overweight or obese. The association with physical activity, but not with overweight or obesity, remained after adjustment for respondent characteristics, area deprivation, and a range of characteristics of the neighbourhood environment. The findings suggest that the provision of good access to green spaces in urban areas may help promote population physical activity.
Subfields: Global and Planetary Change, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis, Transportation
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/589ed2d9096b4ffc4f00faa311260f1562a6ce3c
How researchers see this paper
The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.
In Global and Planetary Change
In Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
In Transportation
Citations in the corpus
- The health benefits of urban green spaces: a review of the evidence. (2011, background): “Residential proximity to green spaces was also associated with increased levels of physical activity 8,52–55 and the presence of barriers such as major roads was an influencing factor.”
- Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence (2021, background): “Some studies reported U-shaped associations with obesity [73], while other studies reported no association after adjustment for respondent characteristics [63] or neighborhood socioeconomic status [74].”
- Mitigating and adapting to climate change: multi-functional and multi-scale assessment of green urban infrastructure. (2014, background): “Good access to urban green spaces is associated with higher physical activity levels, and a lower likelihood of being overweight or obese (Coombes et al., 2010).”
- A Review of the Health Benefits of Greenness (2015, positive): “One study found that living close to a park was positively associated with physical activity, but not associated with overweight/obesity [19].”