Impact of Different Types of Physical Activity in Green Urban Space on Adult Health and Behaviors: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This systematic review aimed to investigate the type of physical activity carried out in green urban spaces by the adult population and to value its impact on the population’s health. Additionally, another purpose was to examine if the presence of outdoor gyms in green urban spaces can promote participation in physical activity among adults. Searches of electronic databases, with no time restrictions and up to June 2020, resulted in 10 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. A quantitative assessment is reported as effect size. Many people practiced walking activity as a workout, which showed improvements in health. Walking is the most popular type of training due to its easy accessibility and it not requiring equipment or special skills. Outdoor fitness equipment has been installed in an increasing number of parks and has become very popular worldwide. Further, outdoor fitness equipment provides free access to fitness training and seems to promote physical activity in healthy adults. However, other studies about outdoor fitness equipment efficiency are needed. People living near to equipped areas are more likely to perform outdoor fitness than those who live further away. The most common training programs performed in green urban spaces included exercises with free and easy access, able to promote physical health and perception.

The Evaluation of Physical Activity Habits in North Italian People before and during COVID-19 Quarantine: A Pilot Study

“…Our results showed higher percentage in walking activities, followed by well-being PA (yoga, pilates, and postural gymnastic) as suggested by the WHO [27]. We think the rationale of this is, in fact, that walking activities do not need gym equipment and coach/trainer monitoring [28]. However, we did not investigate whether participants who practiced walking activities used the treadmill or any other equipment.…”

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Outdoor Fitness Equipment Intervention in Achieving Fitness Goals for Seniors

“…The generalizability of our results is subject to certain limitations. First, the OFE may not be the same as those in different regions: different OFE manufacturing design and equipment slightly differ, despite a similar appearance [ 23 ]. Second, the interventions were conducted in a park to reflect free-living experience when seniors use OFE.…”

“…It establishes the groundwork to develop OFE training protocols and exercises. It promotes dissemination of an evidence-based intervention to improve specific fitness goals in terms of objective measurement and functional capacity, which earlier studies endorsed [ 23 , 71 ]. This study highlights research needing more investigation to examine the effectiveness of OFE for populations with special needs.…”

“…Many parks worldwide installed outdoor fitness equipment (OFE) in parks/open spaces to attract people [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. OFE, or outdoor gyms, fitness zone, have become popular in numerous green spaces and built environments [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. These facilities are modified configurations of conventional indoor gym equipment to use in the outdoor environment.…”

Combined Ketogenic Diet and Walking Exercise Interventions in Community Older Groups

“…It is possible that high exercise intensity could diminish oxidative stress. Based on this study regimen it is reasonable to suggest that at least 90 days of exercise training is necessary to stimulate improvements in the elderly endothelial function[61]. A daily brisk walking exercise intervention for 120 days was associated with significantly improved arterial compliance in the older community groups[62].…”