Active and sedentary use of public open spaces in Asian countries

Abstract

ABSTRACT Public open spaces are important resources for physical activity. Observational studies conducted in Western countries found that public open spaces users tend to be mostly sedentary, while a few studies conducted in Asia (China, Thailand) reported more active patterns of public open spaces use. To better understand in what ways public open spaces are used in Asia, we examined how active and sedentary public open spaces users were in Bangladesh and the Philippines, where no research on this topic has been conducted. We collected data from adult visitors of 10 public open spaces using on-site intercept surveys, in which they reported the duration of active and sedentary use of public open spaces. The mean total time spent in public open spaces by 804 participants was 53 min (standard deviation: 19 min). A high level of active public open spaces use was observed: about 70% of the time in public open spaces was active (65% in Bangladesh, 73% in the Philippines). However, women and older adults were less active in public open spaces than their counterpart. Our findings suggest that producing more public open spaces and promoting public open spaces use in these Asian countries may help to increase adults’ physical activity. Future research should identify features of public open spaces that can encourage women and older adults to engage in active public open spaces use.