The effect of physical environment on children's physical activity in urban areas

World Health Organization accepted that childhood obesity which could cause chronic diseases and increase the mortality rate in adulthood, is a global public health problem. To struggle with this problem, the importance of improving physical activity and the requirement of children's must meet at least 3 day per week and at least sixty minutes moderate-to-vigorous physical activity is stressed. However, the scientific research indicates that is not the ease. Physical environmental characteristics are contended as one of the reasons of this situation. This dissertation aims to determining the influential parameters on children's physical activity and the physical environments where the children fulfill the different intensities of physical activity. In this dissertation, 47 children who were 9-to-12-years-old and engaged in a sportive school's basketball and swimming classes, wore accelerometer and GPS devices that measured physical activity intensity and its location for 7 days. The coaches collected children's height, weight data. The survey form filled by parents provided information about demographical characteristics of children, the family's socio-economic status, social encouragement for physical activity, and perceived neighborhood characteristics. GIS provided data about spatial features in the vicinity of the children's school and home. Thus, the relation between children's physical activity levels and demographic, developmental, social and physical environmental characteristics were statistically analyzed. Statistical analyses failed to provide findings about the relation between physical activity and the determinants. Nevertheless, the results showed that, children showed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in open spaces, green areas, and streets around the house, in streets around the school and in the schoolyard. These findings may highlight that the interventions not only in neighborhoods but also school environment could be effective for increasing children's activity. Another significance of this study is the original methodology used to determine children's physical activity levels. The discussions about the methodology's feasibility for other age groups of children and availability of producing physical activity supporting urban spaces, is expected to lead the future research.