Association between Access to Public Open Spaces and Physical Activity in a Mediterranean Population at High Cardiovascular Risk

Antoni Colom, Miguel Fiol, Maurici Ruiz, Montserrat Compa, Marga Morey, Manuel Moñino and Dora Romaguera
Additional contact information
Antoni Colom: Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Illes Balears (IdISBa), University Hospital Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca 07120, Spain
Miguel Fiol: Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Illes Balears (IdISBa), University Hospital Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca 07120, Spain
Maurici Ruiz: Servicio de SIG y Teledetección, Vicerectorat d’Innovació i Transferència, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca 07120, Spain
Montserrat Compa: Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares, 07015 Palma, Spain
Marga Morey: Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Illes Balears (IdISBa), University Hospital Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca 07120, Spain
Manuel Moñino: Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Illes Balears (IdISBa), University Hospital Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca 07120, Spain
Dora Romaguera: Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Illes Balears (IdISBa), University Hospital Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca 07120, Spain

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-11

Abstract: Background : Regular physical activity is an important preventive factor of cardiovascular disease. Proximity and density of public open spaces are important modifying factors on the practice of physical activity. This article explores the cross-sectional relationship between access to public open spaces (POS) and leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in elderly participants at high cardiovascular risk from PREDIMED-Baleares. Method : 428 elderly subjects at high cardiovascular risk, participating in the PREDIMED trial, from Palma de Mallorca (Spain) were assessed using Geographic Information Systems, and access to POS was determined. The quantity and intensity of LTPA was calculated using the Minnesota Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire. In order investigate the association between access to POS and LTPA, generalized linear regression models were used. Results : Better access to POS was not consistently associated with total LTPA. Only distance to the nearest park showed a borderline significant positive associated with total LTPA and moderate-vigorous LTPA but was not associated with light LTPA. Conclusions : Although living near POS was not associated to total LTPA, higher levels of moderate-vigorous LTPA were associated to distances to the nearest park. Future work should be conducted on a larger sample size, integrating a longitudinal design, and greater heterogeneity in POS access and introducing objective measures of physical activity.

Keywords: physical activity; leisure; public open space; GIS; elderly; PREDIMED trial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/6/1285/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/6/1285/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:6:p:1285-:d:153006

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().