Risks and Benefits of Green Spaces for Children: A Cross-Sectional Study of Associations with Sedentary Behavior, Obesity, Asthma, and Allergy

Abstract

Background: Green spaces have been associated with both health benefits and risks in children; however, available evidence simultaneously investigating these conflicting influences, especially in association with different types of greenness, is scarce.Objectives: We aimed to simultaneously evaluate health benefits and risks associated with different types of greenness in children, in terms of sedentary behavior (represented by excessive screen time), obesity, current asthma, and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of a population-based sample of 3,178 schoolchildren (9–12 years old) in Sabadell, Spain, in 2006. Information on outcomes and covariates was obtained by questionnaire. We measured residential surrounding greenness as the average of satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in buffers of 100 m, 250 m, 500 m, and 1,000 m around each home address. Residential proximity to green spaces was defined as living within 300 m of a forest or a park, as separate variables. We used logistic regression models to estimate associations separately for each exposure–outcome pair, adjusted for relevant covariates.Results: An interquartile range increase in residential surrounding greenness was associated with 11–19% lower relative prevalence of overweight/obesity and excessive screen time, but was not associated with current asthma and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Similarly, residential proximity to forests was associated with 39% and 25% lower relative prevalence of excessive screen time and overweight/obesity, respectively, but was not associated with current asthma. In contrast, living close to parks was associated with a 60% higher relative prevalence of current asthma, but had only weak negative associations with obesity/overweight or excessive screen time.Conclusion: We observed two separable patterns of estimated health benefits and risks associated with different types of greenness.Citation: Dadvand P, Villanueva CM, Font-Ribera L, Martinez D, Basagaña X, Belmonte J, Vrijheid M, Gražulevičienė R, Kogevinas M, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ. 2014. Risks and benefits of green spaces for children: a cross-sectional study of associations with sedentary behavior, obesity, asthma, and allergy. Environ Health Perspect 122:1329–1335; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1308038

Effects of Urban Green Space on Environmental Health, Equity and Resilience

“…A more recent study in Spain confirmed these conclusions and showed that living in greener residential areas and living in closer proximity to forests was linked with less sedentary time and reduced risks of overweight and obesity in children (Dadvand et al 2014a).…”

Economic Value of Parks via Human Mental Health: An Analytical Framework

“…Mental health outcomes are reported for both adults and children (Dadvand et al, 2014Wu et al, 2014;Zhang et al, 2014), and for both men and women (Teas et al, 2007). Improvements derived from recreation and tourism have received particular attention (Kühnel and Sonnentag, 2011;Dolnicar et al, 2012;Chen and Petrick, 2013;Bimonte and Faralla, 2015;Coghlan, 2015;Zuo et al, 2015;Chen et al, 2016;Uysal et al, 2016).…”

Indicadores De Atividade Física E Sedentarismo Associados Ao Sobrepeso/Obesidade Em Escolares

“…Também, o ambiente em que a criança e o adolescente estão inseridos são fatores determinantes para sobrepeso/obesidade. Na Espanha, escolares que residem em áreas mais arborizadas apresentam menor prevalência de tempo de tela e de sobrepeso/obesidade, sugerindo que os fatores ambientais devem ser levados em consideração para a promoção da saúde de crianças e adolescentes 25 .…”