1. Assessing the Impact of Built Environments on
Children’s Physical Activity: A Parental Perspective
Lindsey Flanagan, MPH (c)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Andrea Crivelli-Kovach, Ph.D., MA, MCHES
Department of Public Health
Conclusions
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Background
Presently, 25% of children ages 6-12 meet the daily
recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Childhood
inactivity leads to obesity and obesity related health outcomes
such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and
various types of cancers. Fifty percent of children ages 5-7
already possess risk factors of heart disease and are at
increased odds of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Parents and children are pushed to reach the recommended
level of activity at home, as recess and physical activity classes
are being reduced at school. Neighborhood and recreation
facilities are linked with increased physical activity levels.
Perceptions of these characteristics may be more predictive of
behavior than reality as individual assessments of structures
can have a stronger influence on parental decisions. Parental
assessments are important to investigate when studying
young children due to the lack of autonomy children have
regarding when and where they can play or travel.
Methods
 Fifty-four families with children between the ages of 6-12
 Cross sectional survey administered via email.
 Assessed neighborhood structural characteristics and children’s
physical activity behaviors.
 Compared parents’ perceptions of safety and conditions of
neighborhood characteristics with their children’s physical
activity behaviors and use of facilities.
Results
 Parents reported more out-of-school physical activity than in-
school (52 min vs 23 min).
 83% reported recreation facilities as very safe or somewhat
safe; 2% reported not feeling safe at all.
 Linear regression found a strong positive correlation (r = 0.87)
between assessed condition and children’s use of the facilities
with 76% of the variance of the usage dependent on the
parental assessment of recreation facilities.
Results
Figure 1. Do parental
concerns of safety of
public recreation facilities
in neighborhoods
influence children’s use of
them?
Over half of parents
indicated that safety
concerns do not influence
their children’s use of
structures
Figure 3. Availability of recreation facilities in participants’
neighborhoods
Parks/playgrounds/fields were most commonly indicated in
participants’ neighborhoods.
Figure 2. The relationship
between parental
assessment of the facility
condition and their children’s
use of the facilities.
Condition ratings strongly
predicted usage of facilities.
 Parental assessments of the community impacted their
children’s physical activity behaviors.
 Parents who rated facility conditions lower were more likely
to report lower usage from their children.
 Aesthetics and conditions of the built environment appear to
impact use of facilities. Communities and urban planners
need to consider these findings when developing structures
and improving neighborhood recreation facilities.
Purpose
The purpose of this project was to explore the relationship
between parental assessment and perception of the built
environment and community resources to children’s
physical activity behaviors.
Research Questions
1.Do neighborhood characteristics impact children's
physical activity levels?
2. Do parental perceptions of the conditions of recreational
facilities affect children’s use of recreation facilities?
3. Do parental perceptions of the safety of recreation
facilities affect children’s use recreation facilities?