[The use of sports facilities for physical activity: a public health and equity perspective]

Background: despite multimillion-dollar investments in sports facilities, there is little information on their contribution to energy expenditure of the population. In this study, participation in 71 physical activities (PAs) and 31 different types of spaces was examined. Objectives: to evaluate which types of spaces are more effective from a public health perspective. Methods: a cross-sectional sample was designed, stratified and proportional to the adult population of Gran Canaria (n = 3,000, ≥ 18 years). PA was evaluated using a validated questionnaire. The spaces used were grouped into two categories: public open spaces and sport facilities. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results: the open public spaces accumulated a volume of hours for PA between 1.6 and 28.4 times higher than the sport facilities depending on the socio-demographic group analyzed. The indoor sport facilities were the ones that expressed the greatest associative strength with the achievement of PA recommendations (OR = 5.45, 95 % CI: 4.01; 7.40). Conclusion: a dilemma was posed from a public health perspective because the urban open public spaces reached more population and supported most of the population's energy expenditure, particularly in the groups with the highest health risk, but the indoor sport facilities were the ones that best contributed to achieving a healthy level of physical activity. This study suggests changes in the polices of construction and management of sport facilities and open public spaces to increase PA in groups at higher health risk.