title: How active are people in metropolitan parks? An observational study of park visitation in Australia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Parks are generally an under-utilized resource in the community with great potential to enhance levels of physical activity. If parks are to attract more visitors across a broad cross-section of the population and facilitate increased physical activity, research is needed to better understand park visitor characteristics and how visitors spend their time in parks. The Recording and EValuating Activity in a Modified Park (REVAMP) study is a natural experiment monitoring a park upgrade in a low socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhood. This study described the observed baseline characteristics of park visitors (age, sex) and characteristics of visitation (weekday or weekend day, period of the day) and explored how these characteristics were associated with observed park-based physical activity in two metropolitan parks located Melbourne, Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Direct observations of park visitors were conducted using a modified version of SOPARC (the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities) on four weekdays and four weekend days. During weekdays, observations were conducted every hour from 7:30 am-4:30 pm and on weekend days from 8:30 am-4:30 pm. This equated to a total of 1460 scans across the two parks. Chi-square tests examined bivariate associations between park-based physical activity, and socio-demographic and park visitation characteristics. Logistic regression models examined the odds of being observed engaging in moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity relative to lying/sitting/standing according to socio-demographic and park visitation characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 4756 park visitors were observed with the majority visiting on weekend days (87 %) and in the afternoon (41 %). Most visitors (62 %) were lying, sitting or standing, with only 29 % observed engaging in moderate-intensity and 9 % in vigorous-intensity physical activity. Park use differed by time of day, sex, age group, and neighborhood SES. Physical activity was lower for women than men (OR 0.76) and higher among visitors in the high SES area (OR 1.52).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parks offer substantial opportunities for people of all ages to engage in physical activity; however, this study showed that a large proportion of the park visitors observed were engaged in sedentary pursuits. Further research on how park design, amenities and programming can optimize park visitation and park-based physical activity is needed.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Current controlled trial ISRCTN50745547 , registration date 11.1.2014.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria, 3125, Australia. jenny.veitch@deakin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Veitch
authors.affiliation: Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria, 3125, Australia. alison.carver@deakin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carver
authors.affiliation: Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria, 3125, Australia. gavin.abbott@deakin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Gavin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abbott
authors.affiliation: Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. b.giles-corti@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Billie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Giles-Corti
authors.affiliation: Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria, 3125, Australia. anna.timperio@deakin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Timperio
authors.affiliation: Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria, 3125, Australia. jo.salmon@deakin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Salmon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011633:Public Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011998:Recreation; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult