Associations between Children’s Physical Activity and Neighborhood Environments Using GIS: A Secondary Analysis from a Systematic Scoping Review

Abstract

Regular participation in physical activity is essential for children’s physical, mental, and cognitive health. Neighborhood environments may be especially important for children who are more likely to spend time in the environment proximal to home. This article provides an update of evidence for associations between children’s physical activity behaviors and objectively assessed environmental characteristics derived using geographical information system (GIS)-based approaches. A systematic scoping review yielded 36 relevant articles of varying study quality. Most studies were conducted in the USA. Findings highlight the need for neighborhoods that are well connected, have higher population densities, and have a variety of destinations in the proximal neighborhood to support children’s physical activity behaviors. A shorter distance to school and safe traffic environments were significant factors in supporting children’s active travel behaviors. Areas for improvement in the field include the consideration of neighborhood self-selection bias, including more diverse population groups, ground-truthing GIS databases, utilising data-driven approaches to derive environmental indices, and improving the temporal alignment of GIS datasets with behavioral outcomes.

Results from Aotearoa New Zealand's 2022 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth: A call to address inequities in health-promoting activities

“…The environments in which children and youth live, work and play can have significant impacts on their PA behaviours and health. 43 , 44 , 45 Having appropriate infrastructure (e.g., footpaths, bike lanes, trails), availability of quality PA destinations (e.g., parks, playgrounds, facilities), easy access to places of importance, and safe places to be active are all important facilitators of PA in children and youth. Finally, government policies and strategic priorities play an important role in PA promotion.…”