Addressing the importance of recreational area availability on physical activity level: results from the Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey (HNNHS)

Abstract Background Understanding the factors associated with engagement in physical activity (PA) is crucial for designing effective PA promoting strategies. The aim of this study was to identify the main socio-demographic, individual, and environmental determinants associated with higher PA levels. Methods Data for 2356 healthy adults (43.3% male), 19–64 years of age, from the Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey (HNNHS) were included. Information on socio-demographic characteristics, medical history, environmental data, and PA level were collected using validated questionnaires and tools. Multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the association between PA levels, socio-demographic and environmental determinants, defined as the number of available areas in the participants neighborhood. Results The present study identified among several sociodemographic and environmental factors that existence of recreational facilities and available areas in the neighborhood are probably the most important facilitators in engagement in PA. Also, lack of time due to job obligations and particularly existence of obesity was highlighted as crucial barriers in PA participation ( p < 0.05 for all variables). Conclusions Creating recreational areas, tackling lack of leisure time, together with enhancing actions for obesity prevention and treatment in Greece, is a promising approach to enhance PA engagement. Future public health initiatives should focus on these environmental and sociodemographic characteristics to increase PA levels and enhance physical health and well-being.