Abstract
 Perceived vs. Objective Measures of Recreational Facilities Track: Health and Human Services Author(s): Molly Scott, Deborah Cohen, Kelly Evenson, Kelly Evenson Objectives: To explore the relationship between adolescent girls' perceptions of recreational facilities and their number and presence in neighborhoods; and to determine if these facility measures were associated with girls' met-weighted moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MW-MVPA) outside of school hours. Methods: Girls participating in the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls reported whether it was easy to get to 9 types of recreational facilities. The girls' addresses were then geocoded and all facilities in parks, schools, and commercial sites within a mile of the girls homes were documented. Accelerometers recorded each girls' MW-MVPA. Results: The number of facilities within a half-mile of girls' homes strongly predicted the perception of easy access to 7 of 9 facility types. Both individual facility perceptions and the total number of facilities perceived were associated with increased physical activity. With the exception of basketball courts, objective facility measures were otherwise unrelated to physical activity. Molly Scott RAND 1200 S Hayes St Arlington , VA 22202 US Phone: (703) 413-1100 E-mail: mscott@rand.org Deborah Cohen The RAND Corporation Behavioral Sciences 1776 Main Street Santa Monica , CA 90401-3208 US Phone: (310) 393-0411 E-mail: dcohen@rand.org Kelly Evenson University of North Carolina Dept of Epidemiology, School of Public Health 137 E Franklin St Bank of America Center, Suite 306 Chapel Hill , NC 27514 US Phone: 919-966-4187 E-mail: kevenson@email.unc.edu Kelly Evenson University of North Carolina Dept of Epidemiology, School of Public Health 137 E Franklin St Bank of America Center, Suite 306 Chapel Hill , NC 27514 US Phone: 919-966-4187 E-mail: kevenson@email.unc.edu |
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