Examining Sociodemographic Differences in Playground Availability and Quality and Associations with Childhood Obesity

Parks and playgrounds are important environmental components for promoting healthy weight among children. The purposes of this study were to examine disparities in access to playgrounds and playground quality by multiple sociodemographic characteristics and the association of playground access and quality with youth weight status.

Objectively measured height and weight were collected for all third to fifth grade youth (n = 13,469) in a southeastern US County. Detailed audits of all park playgrounds (n = 95) were concurrently conducted. Playground quality was measured by the presence of eight playground attributes (e.g., good condition and shade). Spatial (GIS) and statistical (multilevel logistic regression) analyses were used to determine access to playgrounds within a ½ mile network buffer, whether playground access and quality varied by the individual's gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and race/ethnicity, and the association between playground access and quality with youth being a healthy weight vs. overweight or obese.

Higher SES youth were half as likely to have a playground within ½ mile. No disparities were found for playground quality by gender, SES, or race/ethnicity. In unadjusted models, youth with lower quality playgrounds nearby were more likely to be overweight/obese than children with no playground access. However, there were no significant associations for playground access/quality and weight status after adjusting for sociodemographic variables.

Future research should continue to monitor disparities in diverse metrics of access to and quality of playgrounds and how these are related to weight status and other outcomes among children of different age, income, and racial/ethnic groups.