title: Where they live, how they play: neighborhood greenness and outdoor physical activity among preschoolers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Emerging empirical evidence suggests exposure to "green" environments may encourage higher levels of physical activity among children. Few studies, however, have explored this association exclusively in pre-school aged children in the United States. We examined whether residing in neighborhoods with higher levels of greenness was associated with higher levels of outdoor physical activity among preschoolers. In addition, we also explored whether outdoor playing behaviors (e.g., active vs. quiet) were influenced by levels of neighborhood greenness independent of demographic and parental support factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher levels of neighborhood greenness as measured by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was associated with higher levels of outdoor playing time among preschool-aged children in our sample. Specifically, a one unit increase in neighborhood greenness increased a child's outdoor playing time by approximately 3 minutes. A dose-response relationship was observed between increasing levels of parental support for physical activity (e.g., time spent playing with children) and child outdoor physical activity (p < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Consistent with previous studies, neighborhood greenness influences physical activity behavior. However, for preschoolers, parental involvement may be more critical for improving physical activity levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA. dgrigs1@illinois.edu
authors.forename: Diana S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Grigsby-Toussaint
authors.forename: Sang-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.forename: Barbara H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Fiese
mesh_terms: D002652:Child Behavior; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004777:Environment; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population