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

TaShauna U. Goldsby, Brandon J. George, Valerie A. Yeager, Bisakha P. Sen, Alva Ferdinand, Devon M. T. Sims, Bryn Manzella, Asheley Cockrell Skinner, David B. Allison and Nir Menachemi
Additional contact information
TaShauna U. Goldsby: Office of Energetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
Brandon J. George: Office of Energetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
Valerie A. Yeager: Department of Global Health Management and Policy, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
Bisakha P. Sen: Department of Health Care Organization and Policy, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
Alva Ferdinand: Department of Health Policy and Management, Texas A&M Health Science Center, College Station, TX 77843, USA
Devon M. T. Sims: Scientific Technologies Corporation, Scottsdale, AZ 85258, USA
Bryn Manzella: Jefferson County Department of Health, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA
Asheley Cockrell Skinner: Division of General Internal Medicine, The Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA
David B. Allison: Office of Energetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
Nir Menachemi: Department Health Policy and Management, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-10

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: childhood obesity; built environment; quasi-experiment; electronic health records (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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