Effects of Installing Fitness Zone Equipment on Park Use and Physical Activity Levels

Abstract

While community parks are important settings for the accrual of physical activity (PA), they are often underused. Commercial outdoor Fitness Zones (FZ) are available for installation, but there is little objective data on population use of the equipment and whether it has an impact on general park use and participant activity levels. PURPOSE: To objectively assess installation of FZ on both equipment and general park use in 12 settings. METHODS: We evaluated FZ installation in 6 City and 6 County parks. Prior to installation we measured use of all activity areas in each park using SOPARC 3 times per day (morning, noon, evening) on 2 weekdays and 2 weekend days. SOPARC uses direct observation to assess both park and user characteristics, including gender, age, race/ethnicity, and activity levels. After FZ installation we did the same measures twice (winter and spring, 2010), while also observing FZ areas hourly for 10 hours per day for each of the 4 days. We also interviewed FZ and other park area users. RESULTS: Over the 3 time periods we observed 23,557 people in the 12 parks (including 2,545 in FZ) and interviewed 2,637 (including 722 in FZ). FZ were used throughout the day. Compared to baseline, overall park use increased 16% during the first follow-up and 3% during the second, with increases concentrated in 4 city and 2 county parks-primarily those with a larger population density. FZ attracted more new users to parks than other park areas. FZ users reported coming to the park more frequently and engaging in more exercise sessions than other park users: while there they engaged in more moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (65.7% vs. 33.1% at first follow-up; 71.8% vs. 36.7% at second follow-up). Compared to baseline, MVPA increased in non FZ areas by 12% at the first follow up and 10% at the second. CONCLUSIONS: Adding FZ may attract new park users and increase MVPA in parks, even in areas beyond FZ. FZ may have their greatest impact in parks in densely populated communities and in smaller parks that have few facilities and amenities. Supported by Active Living Research/RWJ Foundation, NHLBI, TPL, and the Kaiser Foundation.