Urban park use and children’s physical activity in Minneapolis-Saint Paul Minnesota: Parks and Recreation for Kids Study (PARKS)

BACKGROUND: This study examined urban park use and physical activity (PA) among diverse children to better understand the potential for park use to increase child PA and reduce early childhood cardiometabolic risk factors. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were collected (2022-2023) from 430 parent-child dyads who lived within a two-mile radius of one of 20 urban parks. Children ages 6-12 years wore an accelerometer for a minimum of 4 days (one weekend day and three weekdays) for ten hours each day to capture moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light and sedentary activity. Parents reported the child's past week PA and past year frequency of any park use. General linear models examined differences in child PA by any park use frequency. RESULTS: Objectively-measured child PA (MVPA, light and sedentary) was not significantly associated with any park use frequency during the past year. Parent-reported child PA was significantly higher among children who most frequently used parks during the past year (12 + park visits/month; active on an average 6.5 days per week (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 6.1, 6.9) compared with children whose park use was less frequent (0-4 park visits / month; active on average of 5.6 days per week (95% CI: 5.3, 6.0; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Child park use frequency was not associated with objectively-measured child PA but was significantly positively associated with parent report of child PA. Objective measures of individual child total daily PA paired with location data are needed to understand the incremental contribution of park use to child PA. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT05231827.