Association between preschooler outdoor play and home yard vegetation as measured by high resolution imagery: Findings from the PLAYCE study

Trina Robinson; Gursimran Dhamrait; Kevin Murray; Bryan Boruff; John Duncan; Jasper Schipperijn; Hayley Christian

doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103178

Association between preschooler outdoor play and home yard vegetation as measured by high resolution imagery: Findings from the PLAYCE study

Health Place. 2024 Jan:85:103178. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103178. Epub 2024 Jan 22.

Authors

Trina Robinson¹, Gursimran Dhamrait², Kevin Murray³, Bryan Boruff⁴, John Duncan⁵, Jasper Schipperijn⁶, Hayley Christian⁷

Affiliations

¹ Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, 15 Hospital Ave, Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009, Australia. Electronic address: trina.robinson@telethonkids.org.au.
² Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, 15 Hospital Ave, Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009, Australia; School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Clifton St Building, Clifton St, Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009, Australia. Electronic address: gursimran.dhamrait@telethonkids.org.au.
³ School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Clifton St Building, Clifton St, Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009, Australia. Electronic address: kevin.murray@uwa.edu.au.
⁴ School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009, Australia. Electronic address: bryan.boruff@uwa.edu.au.
⁵ School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009, Australia. Electronic address: john.duncan@uwa.edu.au.
⁶ Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense, Denmark. Electronic address: jschipperijn@health.sdu.dk.
⁷ Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, 15 Hospital Ave, Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009, Australia; School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Clifton St Building, Clifton St, Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009, Australia. Electronic address: hayley.christian@uwa.edu.au.

PMID: 38262260
DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103178

Abstract

Outdoor play in the home yard is an important source of physical activity for many preschoolers. This study investigated if home yard size and vegetation are related to preschooler outdoor play time. High-resolution remotely sensed data were used to distinguish between types of vegetation coverage in the home yard. Shrub and tree cover, and yard size, were positively associated with outdoor play. Following stratification by socio-economic status (SES - parent education), only tree cover was positively associated with preschooler outdoor play in low SES households. All types of vegetation cover were positively associated with preschooler outdoor play in higher SES households. This study highlights the importance of larger yard sizes and higher levels of vegetation for facilitating outdoor play in preschoolers.

Keywords: Built environment; Outdoor play; Preschooler; Vegetation; Yard.

MeSH terms

Exercise*
Family Characteristics*
Humans
Social Class