Department of Nursing, University of Valencia, Jaume Roig, s/n, 46010, Valencia, Spain.
AFIPS Research Group, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
Curr Environ Health Rep. 2021 Jun;8(2):177-195. doi: 10.1007/s40572-021-00318-4. Epub 2021 May 2.
The aim of this study was to understand the influence of the physical environment on the physical activity (PA) behavior of preschool children (aged 2 to 6 years), in order to provide an overview of these influences from the perspective of the ecological model.
PA is of great importance for the prevention of obesity and cardiovascular diseases since childhood. The physical environment has a direct relationship with the different domains, where people can spend their time being physically active. Nonetheless, despite the importance of the physical environment to engagement in PA, very few reviews have focused on this relationship in the context of the growing problem of physical inactivity among preschool children. Studies that had analyzed the school domain had found that greater availability of a wider variety of portable play equipment, presence of certain fixed playground equipment, and presence of open spaces had favored PA levels. Furthermore, different studies had shown that the natural environment and the presence of hills were important for children's PA. Thus, despite the associations with PA we were able to identify in this review, new studies will still be needed to link the physical environment with PA levels, especially regarding transportation and leisure time. In conclusion, promoting studies on this subject from an early age will allow us to obtain information that could allow the adaptation, design, and construction of healthier homes, neighborhoods, and schools that promote children's health.
目的：本研究旨在了解物理环境对学前儿童（2-6 岁）身体活动（PA）行为的影响，以便从生态模型的角度概述这些影响。
发现：PA 对预防儿童期肥胖和心血管疾病至关重要。物理环境与人们可以进行身体活动的不同领域直接相关。尽管物理环境对参与 PA 有重要影响，但很少有综述关注这一关系，特别是在儿童身体活动不足日益严重的情况下。分析学校领域的研究发现，更多种类的便携式游乐设备的可用性、某些固定游乐设备的存在以及开放空间的存在有利于提高 PA 水平。此外，不同的研究表明，自然环境和丘陵的存在对儿童的 PA 很重要。因此，尽管我们在本次综述中确定了与 PA 的关联，但仍需要新的研究来将物理环境与 PA 水平联系起来，特别是在交通和休闲时间方面。总之，尽早开展关于这一主题的研究，将使我们能够获得信息，从而能够对促进儿童健康的家庭、社区和学校进行适应性设计和建设。
