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The Neighborhood Recreational Environment and Physical Activity Among Urban Youth: An Examination of Public and Private Recreational Facilities

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Abstract

Recreational facility availability has been shown to associate positively with youth physical activity levels. Nonetheless, little is known about additional facility characteristics affecting their use for physical activity as well as differences between private and public facilities. This study examines (1) perceptions and use of public and private recreational facilities and (2) environmental and individual-level correlates of both facility use and physical activity among urban adolescents. Physical activity was assessed using accelerometry, objective measures of facility availability were obtained using Geographical Information Systems data, and facility use and perceptions were measured with a survey (N = 327). Adolescents were more likely to use public than private facilities despite perceiving that private facilities were of higher quality. Adolescents’ use of both public and private facilities was associated with perceived (but not objective) availability, perceived quality, and use by friends and family. Public, but not private, facility use was associated with physical activity. This study reveals the importance of public facilities to the physical activity of urban youth.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Active Living Research Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1700 Airport Road, Campus Box 7294, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7294, USA

    Amy V. Ries

  2. Department of Health and Kinesiology, University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA

    Alice F. Yan

  3. Department of Behavioral and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, Health and Human Performance Building, Room 2358, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Carolyn C. Voorhees

Authors
  1. Amy V. Ries
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  2. Alice F. Yan
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  3. Carolyn C. Voorhees
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Correspondence to Amy V. Ries.

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Ries, A.V., Yan, A.F. & Voorhees, C.C. The Neighborhood Recreational Environment and Physical Activity Among Urban Youth: An Examination of Public and Private Recreational Facilities. J Community Health 36, 640–649 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-010-9355-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-010-9355-1

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