title: Association of outdoor recreation availability with physical activity and weight status in Minnesota youth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Examine macro-level associations of youth physical activity (PA) and weight status with availability of outdoor recreation resources (i.e., parkland, forestland, natural preserves, nonmotorized trails, and motorized trails) across counties in Minnesota.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hierarchical regression models examined if availability of recreation resources significantly improved prediction of PA and weight status of 9th and 12th grade boys and girls (2010) across Minnesota counties.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The inclusion of county-level densities of recreational land variables did not produce a significant increase in R(2) for any of the models predicting 9th grade outcomes, yet county-level densities of recreational trails did significantly increase R(2) for both levels of PA and weight status. In contrast, the inclusion of recreational trails did not produce any significant increases in R(2) for 12th grade outcomes, although the inclusion of recreational land did significantly increase the R(2) for 12th grade girls achieving 30min of PA 5 or more days of the week.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings indicate that various recreational land and trail types may have different impacts on and associations with PA and health outcomes. As such, it is important that future studies focus not only on parks, but also on other types of recreational lands and trails as well.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, 105 Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Electronic address: sonjaws@missouri.edu.
authors.forename: Sonja A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Wilhelm Stanis
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, 115 Green Hall, 1530 Cleveland Ave North, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oftedal
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Resources, Tourism Center, University of Minnesota, 115 Green Hall, 1530 Cleveland Ave North, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schneider
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004779:Environment Design; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology; D011633:Public Facilities / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011998:Recreation; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Access; Obesity; Outdoor recreation; Parks; Physical activity; Youth