Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct 9;18(1):133.
doi: 10.1186/s12966-021-01203-x.

Understanding children's preference for park features that encourage physical activity: an adaptive choice based conjoint analysis

Affiliations

Understanding children's preference for park features that encourage physical activity: an adaptive choice based conjoint analysis

Jenny Veitch et al. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. .

Abstract

Background: Parks are a key setting for physical activity for children. However, little is known about which park features children prefer and which features are most likely to encourage them to be active in parks. This study examined the relative importance of park features among children for influencing their choice of park for engaging in park-based physical activity.

Methods: Children (n = 252; 8-12 years, 42% male) attending three primary schools in Melbourne, Australia completed a survey at school. They were required to complete a series of Adaptive Choice-Based Conjoint analysis tasks, with responses used to identify the part-worth utilities and relative importance scores of selected park features using Hierarchical Bayes analyses within Sawtooth Software.

Results: For the overall sample and both boys and girls, the most important driver of choice for a park that would encourage them to be active was presence of a flying fox (overall conjoint analysis relative importance score: 15.8%; 95%CI = 14.5, 17.1), followed by a playground (13.5%; 95%CI = 11.9, 15.2). For the overall sample, trees for climbing had the third highest importance score (10.2%; 95%CI = 8.9, 11.6); however, swings had 3rd highest importance for girls (11.1, 95%CI = 9.3, 12.9) and an obstacle course/parkour area had the 3rd highest importance score for boys (10.7, 95%CI = 9.0, 12.4). For features with two levels, part-worth utility scores showed that the presence of a feature was always preferred over the absence of a feature. For features with multiple levels, long flying foxes, large adventure playgrounds, lots of trees for climbing, large round swings, large climbing equipment, and large grassy open space were the preferred levels.

Conclusion: To ensure parks appeal as a setting that encourages children to engage in physical activity, park planners and local authorities and organisations involved in park design should prioritise the inclusion of a long flying fox, large adventure playgrounds, lots of trees for climbing, large round swings and obstacle courses/parkour areas.

Keywords: Active; Attributes; Children; Green spaces; Parks; Preferences; Urban.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Overall average utilities for park features encouraging physical activity
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Relative importance scores for encouraging physical activity among children

References

    1. Biddle SJ, Ciaccioni S, Thomas G, Vergeer I. Physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: an updated review of reviews and an analysis of causality. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2019;42:146–155. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.08.011. - DOI
    1. Poitras VJ, Gray CE, Borghese MM, Carson V, Chaput JP, Janssen I, et al. Systematic review of the relationships between objectively measured physical activity and health indicators in school-aged children and youth. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2016;41(6 Suppl 3):S197–S239. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2015-0663. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Donnelly JE, Hillman CH, Castelli D, Etnier JL, Lee S, Tomporowski P, et al. Physical activity, fitness, cognitive function, and academic achievement in children: a systematic review. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016;48(6):1197. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000901. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aubert S, Barnes JD, Abdeta C, Abi Nader P, Adeniyi AF, Aguilar-Farias N, et al. Global matrix 3.0 physical activity report card grades for children and youth: results and analysis from 49 countries. J Phys Act Health. 2018;15(s2):S251–SS73. doi: 10.1123/jpah.2018-0472. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Troiano RP, Berrigan D, Dodd KW, Masse LC, Tilert T, McDowell M. Physical activity in the United States measured by accelerometer. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008;40(1):181–188. doi: 10.1249/mss.0b013e31815a51b3. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types