Currently, over 30% of youth are overweight or obese. Limited access to parks and recreational facilities is related to physical inactivity and obesity. Environmental factors may also impact the effectiveness of pediatric weight management interventions. Most research concerning the built environment and child weight status has been conducted in urban settings, despite rural children being disproportionately overweight and obese compared to their urban peers. The current study examined the relationship between park density and weight change among 93 overweight rural youth (ages 8-14) participating in a randomized controlled trial examining the effectiveness of a behavioral family weight management intervention. Results revealed that increased park density was associated with decreases in BMI z-score over time for youth in the behavioral family weight management intervention, but not those in the wait-list control group. In rural communities it is important to consider the environmental context when designing prevention and treatment programs addressing childhood obesity.
Keywords: behavioral intervention; built environment; obesity; parks; rural.