The impact of the use of city park on preschool children’s health

Abstract

We investigated the association between city park use and preschool children’s health. This cohort study included 3,416 4−6 year-old children − residents of Kaunas city, Lithuania. Responses to the questionnaires completed by the parents were used to identify children’s health. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the association between children’s health and time spent in the nearest park, controlling for potential confounders. Poor health (14.0% of children) was associated with less than 5 hours per week spent in the park, wheezing, allergy, underweight, and other factors. The use of city parks has a beneficial impact on children’s health, and demonstrates the important role that public parks can play in reducing chronic diseases and poor health among children