Some Associations Between Neighbourhood Recreation Facilities and Moderate-To-Vigorous Physical Activity in Hong Kong

This dissertation, "Some Associations Between Neighbourhood Recreation Facilities and Moderate-to-vigorous Physical Activity in Hong Kong" by Ka-yiu, Lee, 李嘉耀, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: The benefits of engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity have been documented in the literature. The neighbourhood environment, which could influence large proportions of population for sustained periods of time, has been associated with physical activity in Western countries. Yet, it remains unclear that how the neighbourhood environment in ultra-dense Hong Kong, especially with respect to proximity and availability of recreational facilities, is associated with physical activity of its residents. This study examines the associations between neighbourhood recreational facility, in both perceived and objective measures, and physical activity of residents in Hong Kong. The differences between perceived and objective availability of recreational facilities, and the perceived encouraging or discouraging features of a self-reported recreational facility were also examined. The availability of recreational facilities between high and low socio-economic status neighbourhoods was compared to identify inequalities of recreational resource allocation. A total of 480 participants aged 18-65 years, living in 32 neighbourhoods of different extremes of walkability and socio-economic status, were recruited to complete an interviewer-administered questionnaire in which the perceived aspects of neighbourhood recreational facilities were examined, and to wear a motion sensor which objectively measure physical activity for 7 consecutive days. Objective availability of 14 types of recreational facilities, categorized into combinations of indoor or outdoor and public, residential or commercial facilities, were quantified by direct observations. Geographical Information Systems further provided objective data regarding the number of parks, sports centres, sports grounds, playgrounds, swimming pools, bike lanes and pavilions available in the examined neighbourhoods. The objectively-assessed numbers of residential outdoor table tennis courts and public indoor swimming pools, and the presence of tennis courts, pavilions and swimming pools, as well as the perceived presence of bike lanes and swimming pools were positively associated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. In contrast, the objectively-assessed numbers of playgrounds, and the presence of soccer pitches, squash courts and playgrounds, were negatively associated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Poor agreements between perceived and objective availability of volleyball courts, soccer pitches, walking trails, weight and cardio-training equipment were observed. In contrast, good agreement between perceived and objective availability of tennis courts was observed. The level of agreement between perceived and objective availability of specific types of recreational facilities was influenced by the types of neighbourhood where participants lived and socio-demographics characteristics, such as age, education level and monthly household income. Perceived encouraging and discouraging features of a regularly-used recreational facility were observed across different domains, including the conditions of changing rooms and toilets, environmental safety, and aesthetics. High socio-economic status neighbourhoods had higher numbers of pavilions and swimming pools, and had higher odds of having sports grounds, swimming pools and tennis courts than low soci