Abstract
Environmental factors play an important role in obesity-related behaviors. Evidence indicates significant associations between weight and urban green spaces in adults, but it is not clear whether this relationship applies to adolescents. Therefore, our aim was to determine the associations between urban green spaces, greenness exposure and species richness in residential environments with physical activity and body mass index. Sixty-two adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age answered a self-administered questionnaire, providing information on height, weight, age, sex and home address. Data on socioeconomic deprivation were obtained from the European Index of Deprivation for Small Portuguese Areas. Physical activity levels were assessed using accelerometers. Urban green space counts and the normalized difference vegetation index values were measured using buffers along the roads with distances of 300, 500, 1000 and 1500 m from each participant’s residence. To quantify the species richness, the species richness index was used. Linear regression models were fitted to analyze whether urban green spaces, exposure to green spaces and species richness counts for each distance were associated with physical activity and self-reported body mass index. We did not find significant associations between the independent variables and the probability of overweight or obesity. The relationship between environmental variables, adolescents’ physical activity and body weight seems to be complex and further studies may contribute to better understanding of the topic.
Highlights
We aimed to explore whether the number of urban green spaces (UGS), the level of green exposure and the amount of species richness in the residential environment were associated with physical activity (PA) and body mass index (BMI) in Portuguese adolescents, and whether these relationships change with adjustment to the socioeconomic deprivation index
We obtained a total of 311 participants residing in the metropolitan area of Porto; since data referring to the species richness index were only available for the city of Porto, 249 subjects were excluded because they lived outside the limits of this municipality
Since socioeconomic deprivation seems to play an important role in the relationship with overweight and obesity, we developed a model with adjustment for the socioeconomic deprivation index; the results were the same, showing no significant statistics
Summary
Several studies have shown that children and adolescents who engage in more physical activity (PA) have a lower BMI than those who are less active [8,9] In this context, physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors are increasingly being identified as determining factors for pediatric overweight or obesity [10,11]. Many studies have demonstrated positive impacts of UGS on human health and well-being [26,27], it is not clear whether solutions based on an increase in urban nature can really contribute positively to increase PA levels and reduce in overweight and obesity levels [28,29] Given this scenario, green space measures, such as exposure to green spaces and biodiversity, can be assessed to help understand and comprehensively clarify the possible relationships between UGS and health [30]. We aimed to explore whether the number of UGS, the level of green exposure and the amount of species richness in the residential environment were associated with PA and BMI in Portuguese adolescents, and whether these relationships change with adjustment to the socioeconomic deprivation index
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