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Purpose. To examine which school sports engage children in more physical activity. Design. Observational, cross-sectional study examining differences between intramural (IM) and interscholastic (IS) sports. Setting. Athletic facilities at two schools with IM sports and two schools with IS sports in Wake County, North Carolina. Subjects. Middle-school children (N = 6735) Measures. Percentage of children observed in sedentary, moderate, and vigorous activity assessed by the System for Observation Play and Leisure Among Youth (SOPLAY). Energy expenditure and physical activity intensity were also estimated by using MET values. Analysis. T-tests; generalized linear model using cumulative logit link function. Results. IM sports had higher MET values than IS sports (t = −3.69, p < .001), and IM sports ranked in four of the top five sports in terms of average MET values. Regression models found a significant interaction between school sport delivery model and gender, with boys significantly less physically active in IS programs than boys in IM programs (B = –.447, p < .001) but more physically active (B = .359, p < .001) than girls in IM sports. Conclusion. Regardless of sport type, IM sports generated more physical activity than IS sports among boys but not girls. Soccer, basketball, and track, regardless of school delivery approach, provide the highest physical activity levels. Results suggest that school administrators consider reassessing their programs to more efficiently use diminishing resources to increase students' physical activity levels.

We analysed observations from 31 neighbourhood parks, with each park mapped into smaller target areas for study, across five US cities generated using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in the Community (SOPARC). In areas where at least two people were observed, less than one-third (31.6%) were populated with at least one white and one non-white person. Park areas that were supervised, had one or more people engaged in vigorous activity, had at least one male and one female present, and had one or more teens present were significantly more likely to involve interracial groups (p < 0.01 for each association). Observations in parks located in interracial neighbourhoods were also more likely to involve interracial groups (p < 0.05). Neighbourhood poverty rate had a significant and negative relationship with the presence of interracial groups, particularly in neighbourhoods that are predominantly non-white. Additional research is needed to confirm the impact of these interactions. Urban planning and public health practitioners should consider the health benefits of interracial contact in the design and programming of neighbourhood parks.

Concerns about safety and perceived threats have been considered responsible for lower use of parks in high-poverty neighborhoods. To quantify the role of perceived threats on park use, we systematically observed 48 parks and surveyed park users and household residents in low-income neighborhoods in the City of Los Angeles. Across all parks, the majority of both park users and local residents perceived parks as safe or very safe. We noted apparently homeless individuals during nearly half of all observations, but very few instances of fighting, intimidating groups, smoking, and intoxication. The presence of homeless individuals was associated with higher numbers of park users while the presence of intoxicated persons was associated with lower numbers. Overall, the strongest predictors of increased park use were the presence of organized and supervised activities. Therefore, to increase park use, focusing resources on programming may be more fruitful than targeting perceived threats.

Purpose. To assess the use of new pocket parks in low-income neighborhoods. Design. The design of the study was a quasi-experimental post-test only comparison. Setting. Los Angeles, California, was the setting for the study. Subjects. Subjects were park users and residents living within .5 mile of three pocket parks and 15 neighborhood parks. Intervention. The creation of pocket parks. Measures. We used the System of Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) tool to measure park use and park-based physical activity, and then surveyed park users and residents about their park use. Analysis. We surveyed 392 and 432 household members within .5 mile of the three pocket parks before and after park construction, respectively, as well as 71 pocket park users, and compared them to 992 neighborhood park users and 342 residents living within .5 mile of other neighborhood parks. We compared pocket park use to playground area use in the larger neighborhood parks. We used descriptive statistics and generalized estimating equations for the analysis. Results. Overall, pocket park use compared favorably in promoting moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with that of existing playground space in nearby parks, and they were cost-effective at $0.73/MET hour (metabolic equivalent hour) gained. Pocket park visitors walked an average of .25 miles to get to a park. Conclusions. Pocket parks, when perceived as attractive and safe destinations, may increase physical activity by encouraging families with children to walk there. Additional strategies and programs may be needed to encourage more residents to use these parks.

Purpose.The study examines the relationship between children's television (TV) viewing and physical fitness.Design.Cross-sectional data from questionnaires and objective measures were analyzed.Setting.Data were collected during the fall of 1990 from public elementary school students in a suburban California city.Subjects.Approximately 98% of eligible students participated. Of these, 10% were dropped due to missing data, yielding a final sample of 284 girls and 304 boys.Measures.Children reported their amount of TV viewing on a typical summer day; parents reported their child's TV viewing on a typical weekday during the school year. Cardiovascular fitness was the 1-mile run/walk. Body fat was both the child's body mass index (BMI) and skinfolds. Additional measures included muscular strength/endurance and flexibility.Results.Mile run/walk times were associated with both parental (η2= . 051 and . 031 for boys and girls, respectively) and child reports (η2= . 020 and . 028) of the child's amount of TV viewing. Parental reports, but not child reports, of the child's TV viewing were related to BMI (η2= .041 and .058) and skinfolds (η2= .050 and .029). Neither measure of children's TV viewing was related to muscular strength/endurance or flexibility.Conclusions.Children's TV viewing seems to be weakly and inconsistently related to various components of physical fitness. However, given the tracking of cardiovascular disease risk factors from childhood into adulthood and the high proportion of children who watch television, these relationships are worthy of further study.

We examined the influence of the built environment on pedestrian route selection among adolescent girls. Portable global positioning system units, accelerometers, and travel diaries were used to identify the origin, destination, and walking routes of girls in San Diego, California, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. We completed an inventory of the built environment on every street segment to measure the characteristics of routes taken and not taken. Route-level variables covering four key conceptual built environment domains (Aesthetics, Destinations, Functionality, and Safety) were used in the analysis of route choice. Shorter distance had the strongest positive association with route choice, whereas the presence of a greenway or trail, higher safety, presence of sidewalks, and availability of destinations along a route were also consistently positively associated with route choice at both sites. The results suggest that it may be possible to encourage pedestrians to walk farther by providing high-quality and stimulating routes.

Purpose. To examine school socioeconomic status (SES) in relation to school physical activity-related practices and children's physical activity. Design. A cross-sectional design was used for this study. Setting. The study was set in 97 elementary schools (63% response rate) in two U.S. regions. Subjects. Of the children taking part in this study, 172 were aged 10.2 (standard deviation (SD) = 1.5) years; 51.7% were girls, and 69.2% were White non-Hispanic. Measures. School physical education (PE) teachers or principals responded to 15 yes/no questions on school physical activity-supportive practices. School SES (low, moderate, high) was derived from the percent of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch. Children's moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during school was measured with accelerometers. Analysis. School level analyses involved linear and logistic regression; children's MVPA analyses used mixed effects regression. Results. Low-SES schools were less likely to have a PE teacher and had fewer physical activity-supportive PE practices than did high-SES schools (p < .05). Practices related to active travel to school were more favorable at low-SES schools (p < .05). Children attending high-SES schools had 4.4 minutes per day more of MVPA during school than did those at low-SES schools, but this finding was not statistically significant (p = .124). Conclusion. These findings suggest that more low- and moderate-SES elementary schools need PE teachers in order to reduce disparities in school physical activity opportunities and that PE time needs to be supplemented by classroom teachers or other staff to meet guidelines.