Use of accelerometry and Global Positioning System (GPS) to describe children’s park-based physical activity among racial/ethnic minority youth

Use of accelerometry and Global Positioning System (GPS) to describe children’s park-based physical activity among racial/ethnic minority youth | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Use of accelerometry and Global Positioning System (GPS) to describe children’s park-based physical activity among racial/ethnic minority youth Claudia Alberico, Maria Zweig, Allison Carter, S. Morgan Hughey, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4644165/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Dec, 2024 Read the published version in Journal of Urban Health → Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Parks are one component of the built environment to promote regular physical activity (PA) among youth. This study investigated differences in park-based PA among youth based on demographics and park features in racially/ethnically diverse communities. In 2017-2018, parks were selected in majority Asian (n=3), Latino (n=5), and Black (n=4) neighborhoods in North Carolina (n=6) and New York (n=6). Researchers recruited parents/caregivers of 5–10-year-olds to participate. Children wore an Actigraph GT3+ waist accelerometer and a QStarz GPS unit and were instructed to play normally for at least 15 minutes. Evenson cutpoints were used to classify PA levels as sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous. Chi-squared tests and non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to examine differences in PA intensity minutes (sedentary, light, moderate-to-vigorous) across study location and demographic variables. Youth participated from NY (n=200) and NC (n=157). Overall, most park-based PA was spent in light intensity (59.9%), followed by moderate-to-vigorous intensity (32.4%). Females, compared to male participants, spent more time in sedentary behavior (9.0%, 6.1%) and less time in moderate-to-vigorous PA (26.6%, 38.1%). Participants who identified as Black (32.9% MVPA), Latino (35.8%), and Other (39.8%) spent higher percentages of time in moderate-to-vigorous PA than Asian (26.6%) and non-Hispanic White (21.3%) participants. The highest proportion of moderate-to-vigorous PA occurred on swing sets (46%) and basketball courts (45%). Racial/ethnic, sex, and activity area differences in park-based PA indicate that diverse youth use parks uniquely; these factors should be considered in designing parks for various ages and backgrounds. Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Dec, 2024 Read the published version in Journal of Urban Health → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revise and resubmit 14 Aug, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Jul, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 22 Jul, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 26 Jun, 2024 First submitted to journal 26 Jun, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4644165","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":319466597,"identity":"235d20c2-f9c2-42a4-b7c4-b90858d3e6f4","order_by":0,"name":"Claudia Alberico","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North Carolina Central University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Claudia","middleName":"","lastName":"Alberico","suffix":""},{"id":319466598,"identity":"a82c2f79-412d-4458-ba65-d620055fe7c1","order_by":1,"name":"Maria Zweig","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"College of Charleston","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Maria","middleName":"","lastName":"Zweig","suffix":""},{"id":319466599,"identity":"f94941f7-3146-4b9d-a9a3-480641d58694","order_by":2,"name":"Allison Carter","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"College of Charleston","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Allison","middleName":"","lastName":"Carter","suffix":""},{"id":319466600,"identity":"3d0e7df5-4d89-4b86-9b8f-6bacb0dc7c9e","order_by":3,"name":"S. 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This study investigated differences in park-based PA among youth based on demographics and park features in racially/ethnically diverse communities. In 2017-2018, parks were selected in majority Asian (n=3), Latino (n=5), and Black (n=4) neighborhoods in North Carolina (n=6) and New York (n=6). Researchers recruited parents/caregivers of 5–10-year-olds to participate. Children wore an Actigraph GT3+ waist accelerometer and a QStarz GPS unit and were instructed to play normally for at least 15 minutes. Evenson cutpoints were used to classify PA levels as sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous. Chi-squared tests and non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to examine differences in PA intensity minutes (sedentary, light, moderate-to-vigorous) across study location and demographic variables. Youth participated from NY (n=200) and NC (n=157). Overall, most park-based PA was spent in light intensity (59.9%), followed by moderate-to-vigorous intensity (32.4%). 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