Public parks can help people get enough physical activity, but they may not seem equally attractive or accessible to all local residents, according to a study by RAND Corporation researchers. They studied park use in high-poverty Los Angeles neighborhoods and found that those who perceived their parks as safe reported using them more often – but even when controlling for perceptions of safety and other factors, women reported less park use and shorter park visits than men did.
This study is the Editor’s Choice selection of the latest issue of the journal Women’s Health Issues, “Gender Disparities in Park Use and Physical Activity among Residents of High-Poverty Neighborhoods in Los Angeles.” Women’s Health Issues is the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, which is based in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University.
Kathryn P. Derose and RAND Corporation colleagues conducted observations in 48 public parks in high-poverty Los Angeles neighborhoods and interviewed adults who lived within one mile of each park. Both Latino and African-American residents were less likely than White residents to report exercising in a park, they found. In an analysis that controlled for several factors that have been reported to be associated with park use (race/ethnicity, education, obesity, health status, proximity to park, having children under the age of 18, perceived park safety, estimated screen time, and park- and neighborhood-level variables), the authors found that women reported nearly 0.3 times fewer park visits in the past week and typical visits that were, on average, 11 minutes shorter than those reported by men.
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