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Evidence Base Home » Parks and Open Spaces » Parks encourage and provide a space for physical activity which can effectively combat obesity and chronic disease

Articles in Parks encourage and provide a space for physical activity, which can effectively combat obesity and chronic disease.

  • Parks facilitate physically active lifestyles by providing relatively low cost choices for recreation.

    Transportation Research Board Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. 2005. Does the built environment influence physical activity? Examining the evidence. National Academies of Science.

  • In a study about Los Angeles, active people who live within two miles of a park are more likely to exercise in a park (34%) than at home (21%), at private clubs (6%), or at other locations (4%), although many people (35%) reported exercising in more than one location. The study also revealed that most (81%) park users live within one mile of a park, and that people living within one mile of a park are four times as likely to visit the park once per week or more.

    Cohen, D. et al. Park Use and Physical Activity in a Sample of Public Parks in the City of Los Angeles. 2006, RAND Corporation.

  • Parks play a critical role in facilitating physical activity in minority communities, by providing recreational facilities, scheduled and supervised activities, and destinations to which people can walk—even though they may be sedentary after arriving there.

    Cohen, DA, McKenzie TL, Sehgal A, Williamson S, Golinelli D, Lurie N. Contribution of public parks to physical activity. Am J Public Health. 2007 Mar;97(3):509-14.

  • Nationally, about 30% of physically active people report exercising in public parks.

    Brownson, R.C. et al. Environmental and policy determinants of physical activity in the United States. Am J Public Health, 2001. 91(12): p. 1995-2003.

  • A review article in American Journal of Preventative Medicine showed that access to a place to exercise results in a 5.1 percent median increase in aerobic capacity, along with a reduction in body fat, weight loss, improvements in flexibility, and an increase in perceived energy.

    Trust for Public Land. The Benefits of Parks: why America needs more city parks and open space. 2005.

  • Increases in physical activity has been linked to numerous health benefits: reductions in premature mortality; prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and hypertension; and improvements in psychological well-being.

    Transportation Research Board Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. 2005. Does the built environment influence physical activity? Examining the evidence. National Academies of Science.

  • According to the CDC, enhanced access to spaces for physical activity resulted in 25% more people exercising 3+ days per week.

    CDC. 2001. Increasing physical activity: A report on recommendations of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Available at HYPERLINK "http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5018a1.htm" http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5018a1.htm

  • Each additional park within a half mile increased physical activity by 2.8%.

    Cohen DA, et al. 2006. Public parks and physical activity among adolescent girls. Pediatrics 118:1381-1389.

  • A 1% increase in park space can increase physical activity in youth by 1.4%.

    Roemmich JN, Epstein LH, Raja S, Robinson J, Winiewicz D. 2006. Association of access to parks and recreational facilities with the physical activity of young children. Preventive Medicine 43(6):437-441.

  • Access to places for physical activity combined with outreach and education can produce a 48% increase in frequency of physical activity.

    Kahn EB. 2002. The effectiveness of interventions to increase physical activity. American Journal of Preventative Medicine 22:87-88.

  • Residential proximity to parks is a significant predictor of physical activity levels.

    Powell DE, Martin LM, Chowdhury PP. 2003. Places to walk: Convenience and regular physical activity. American Journal of Public Health 93(9):1519-1521.
    Humpel N, Owen N, Leslie E. 2002. Environmental factors associated with adults participation in physical activity: A review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 22(3):188-199.
    Takano T, Nakamura K, Watanabe M. 2002. Urban residential environments and senior citizens longevity in megacity areas; the importance of walkable green.

  • A Dutch study evaluating links between green space and physical activity found that the association was strongest for people aged under 25 and for elderly, lower educated people and people with low incomes. This may be due to children, elderly and lower socio-economic groups spending more time in the vicinity of their homes and thus being more affected by the design of their direct living environment.

    Maas, J, Verheij, RA, Spreeuwenberg P, Groenewegen PP. Physical activity as a possible mechanism behind the relationship between green space and health: A multilevel analysis. BMC Public Health 2008, 8:206.