Association Between Street Greenery And Physical Fitness In Adolescents In China

PURPOSE: Urban green spaces may influence adolescents' physical activity, but little attention was paid to the linkage between green spaces at street level (street greenery) and adolescents' fitness. This study aimed to examine the association between street greenery and physical fitness in adolescents in China. METHODS: This study investigated the residential street greenery and physical fitness performance of 2,231 (age 18.15 ± 0.70 yr.) adolescents in China. Baidu Street View images and deep learning were used to assess the level of street greenery in the 500-meter buffer zone around the community. The performance of vital capacity, 50 m running, standing long jump, sit-and-reach, 1000 m running, pull-ups, 800 m running, sit-ups were used as the indicator to evaluate adolescents' physical fitness. In data analysis, one way ANOVA and correlation analysis were used to examine the correlation between adolescents' residential street greenery and their physical fitness, and multilevel linear regression models were used to estimate the association between residential street greenery and physical fitness among Chinese adolescents. RESULTS: The effect of street greenery on the physical fitness of adolescents was different in different types fitness assessment. After controlling for individual factors and other confounder factors, a multilevel linear regression model showed that street greenery was significantly and positively associated with 50 m running performance (β = 0.11, p < 0.001) and pull-ups performance (β = 0.09, p < 0.001) among Chinese adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: The level of street greenery around the community is significantly associated with physical fitness, especially 50 m running performance and pull-ups performance, among Chinese adolescents. This is informative for the urban green space planning and management.