Longitudinal Associations Between Neighborhood Park and Open Space Access and Children's Accelerometer-Assessed Measured Physical Activity: The Evidence From the MATCH Study.

Abstract

Cross-sectional studies have shown positive associations between neighborhood park access and children's physical activity (PA); however, research that examines the relationship longitudinally is lacking. This study investigates how neighborhood park access affects the longitudinal trajectory of PA in 192 children across 3 years. Accelerometer-assessed PA data of children (N = 202) were collected across 6 semi-annual waves (7d each) between 2014 and 2018. Geographical information systems was used to measure neighborhood park access (ie,coverage, density, and proximity) at baseline. Mixed-effects models examined the associations of park access with children's baseline and trajectory of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) minutes across 3 years and whether the associations differed by sex or weekends versus weekdays. Higher neighborhood park density, coverage, and proximity were positively associated with children's baseline MVPA minutes per day. Longitudinally, higher park coverage was associated with smaller decreases in children's MVPA minutes per day, but only during weekends. Park density and proximity were not associated with change in MVPA minutes per day. The above associations did not differ by sex. Having access to more neighborhood parklands protected against age-related declines in children's PA. These findings suggest that neighborhood park coverage should be considered by urban planners when evaluating the health impacts of their policies.