Associations between Children’s Physical Activity and Neighborhood Environments Using GIS: A Secondary Analysis from a Systematic Scoping Review

Melody Smith, Suzanne Mavoa, Erika Ikeda, Kamyar Hasanzadeh, Jinfeng Zhao, Tiina E. Rinne, Niamh Donnellan, Marketta Kyttä and Jianqiang Cui
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Melody Smith: School of Nursing, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Suzanne Mavoa: Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3053, Australia
Erika Ikeda: MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SL, UK
Kamyar Hasanzadeh: Department of Built Environment, Aalto University, 00076 Aalto, Finland
Jinfeng Zhao: School of Nursing, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Tiina E. Rinne: Department of Built Environment, Aalto University, 00076 Aalto, Finland
Niamh Donnellan: School of Nursing, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Marketta Kyttä: Department of Built Environment, Aalto University, 00076 Aalto, Finland
Jianqiang Cui: School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4222, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-23

Abstract: Regular participation in physical activity is essential for children’s physical, mental, and cognitive health. Neighborhood environments may be especially important for children who are more likely to spend time in the environment proximal to home. This article provides an update of evidence for associations between children’s physical activity behaviors and objectively assessed environmental characteristics derived using geographical information system (GIS)-based approaches. A systematic scoping review yielded 36 relevant articles of varying study quality. Most studies were conducted in the USA. Findings highlight the need for neighborhoods that are well connected, have higher population densities, and have a variety of destinations in the proximal neighborhood to support children’s physical activity behaviors. A shorter distance to school and safe traffic environments were significant factors in supporting children’s active travel behaviors. Areas for improvement in the field include the consideration of neighborhood self-selection bias, including more diverse population groups, ground-truthing GIS databases, utilising data-driven approaches to derive environmental indices, and improving the temporal alignment of GIS datasets with behavioral outcomes.

Keywords: geographic information systems; youth; active travel; walking; cycling; play; MVPA; health geography; adolescent; children’s geographies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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