Urban Park Development and Pediatric Obesity Rates: A Quasi-Experiment Using Electronic Health Record Data

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Valerie A. Yeager¹  Bisakha P. Sen²  Alva Ferdinand³  David B. Allison⁴  Asheley Cockrell Skinner⁵  Devon M. T. Sims⁶  Nir Menachemi⁷  TaShauna U. Goldsby⁷  Brandon J. George⁷  Bryn Manzella⁸ 

[1] Department of Global Health Management and Policy, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA;Department of Health Care Organization and Policy, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA;;Department of Health Policy and Management, Texas A&Division of General Internal Medicine, The Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA;Jefferson County Department of Health, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA;M Health Science Center, College Station, TX 77843, USA;Office of Energetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA;Scientific Technologies Corporation, Scottsdale, AZ 85258, USA;

关键词: childhood obesity;    built environment;    quasi-experiment;    electronic health records;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph13040411

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Introduction: Childhood obesity affects ~20% of children in the United States. Environmental influences, such as parks, are linked with increased physical activity (PA). Objective: To examine whether changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) z-score were associated with construction of a new park. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used to determine whether living in proximity of a park was associated with a reduction in BMI z-score. Children were selected from health clinics within an 11 mile radius of the park. A repeated-measure ANOVA was employed for analysis of the relationship between exposure (new park) and BMI z-score. Results: Participants were 1443 (median age 10.3 range (2–17.9 years), BMI: z-score 0.84 ± 1.09) African American (77.4%) adolescents. Change in BMI z-score was not statistically different for children living at different distances from the park after controlling for age, gender, race, ethnicity, or payer type (p = 0.4482). We did observe a small 0.03 increase in BMI z-score from pre- to post-park (p = 0.0007). There was a significant positive association between child’s baseline age and BMI z-score (p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study found proximity to a park was not associated with reductions in BMI z-score. Additional efforts to understand the complex relationship between park proximity, access, and PA are warranted.

【 授权许可】

Unknown