Places children use for physical activity in peripheral neighborhoods of the city of Cordoba

https://doi.org/10.18294/sc.2015.685

Published 22 June 2015 Open Access


Licenciada en Nutrición, Doctoranda en Ciencias de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Becaria doctoral, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Centro de Investigaciones Epidemiológicas y en Servicios de Salud, Escuela de Salud Pública, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Argentina , Licenciada en Nutrición, Doctora en Ciencias de la Salud y de la Vida. Investigadora Adjunta, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Directora, Centro de Investigaciones Epidemiológicas y en Servicios de Salud, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Argentina



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Keywords:

Environment, Physical Activity, Recreational Zones, Urban Area, Children, Argentina

Abstract


The way neighborhoods are designed can have enormous potential for encouraging physical activity. The aim of this study was to explore the recreational spaces available in peripheral neighborhoods of the city of Cordoba, Argentina, and determine the frequency with which children attending local public primary schools use them for physical activity. In 2011, parents answered self-administered questionnaires in which they reported their proximity to those spaces, the frequency with which children use them for physical activity, the sex of their child and the educational level of the mother. We found that places closer to the home were used more frequently by children for physical activity. Differences by the child’s sex and the mother’s educational level were observed. The results show the importance of these areas as resources for children’s physical activity as well as the social inequalities that exist in access to these spaces.