To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study in India which simultaneously examined the prevalence of physical activity, availability and quality of resources for physical activity and explored perception of people regarding physical activity at the city level. The major highlights of the study are, there are 36.3 resources and facilities per lakh people supporting physical activity in Kolar city. The total area of park and playgrounds in the city was 0.4 sq. meters per person and most of them were located in the core area of the city. All the parks and playgrounds in the city had low usability scores (< 50%), majority of the leisure facilities (like walking trail and play equipment in parks and playgrounds) and 50% of the sports facilities in the city were of poor to mediocre quality. Around 40% of the adults in the city were physically inactive and the proportion of the people engaging in leisure, exercise or sporting activities was very low. Nearly 3/4th and half of the study participants expressed that the availability of the facilities for physical activity in their neighborhood and in Kolar city as either poor or very poor respectively.
Availability of parks, playgrounds and other sports and fitness related resources/facilities is vital for promoting physical activity in urban area. Parks play a vital role in facilitating physical activity and have become widely recognized as important resource for community health promotion (12). James F Sallis et al observed that Number of parks available in the neighborhood is significantly associated with physical activity among the residents in the neighborhood (odds ratio = 1.16) (13). In Kolar city there were 36.3 physical activity resources for one lakh population including 13 parks and 6 playgrounds. Kolar city has 8.7 parks per 1 lakh population. The city of Bangalore in Karnataka has 1146 parks (14) which comes out to be 13.5 parks for every 1 lakh population which is better than in Kolar city. The number of parks across different cities in India ranged between 525 parks in Chennai (15) (2.1 parks per 1 lakh population) to 18000 parks in Delhi (164 per 1 lakh population) (16). Cities of the US consists of parks ranging from 210 in Fort Worth (25 per 1 lakh population) and 1678 in New York (24 per 1 lakh population) (17).
Per person availability of park and playground area is relatively a better indicator than number of parks. In Kolar city per person availability of the park and playground was 0.4 sq. meters. The availability of open space (park and playground) in city of Bangalore in Karnataka is 2.2 sq. meters per person (18). The per capita availability of green space (including parks and playgrounds) across different cities in India ranged between 0.46 sq. meters in Chennai (19) to 20 sq. meters in Delhi (20). The recommended per-capita green space according to UDPFI (Urban Development Plans Formulation and Implementation) is 10–12 sq. meters (11). This clearly shows that the availability of parks and playgrounds in Kolar city is highly inadequate. Evidence shows that the total area of green space, the size of open space, and entertainment facilities in the neighborhood are significantly correlated to residents’ physical activity. Basketball courts, volleyball courts, swimming pools, and sports equipment in the neighborhood is also likely to promote physical activity (21).
The spatial distribution of parks influences physical activity among the residents. Most of the parks and playgrounds in Kolar city are located in the central part of the city and the peripheral or newly developing areas do not have parks and playgrounds. A study by Ariane reports that exercise facilities, including parks, that are conveniently located in the community are significantly associated with vigorous physical activity among both adults and children (22). Residents living within 0.5 miles of the park reported leisurely exercising 5 or more times per week more often than those living more than 1 mile away (49% vs 35%; p < .01) (23). Overall, the availability of number of parks, per capita availability of parks and playgrounds area and their spatial distribution in Kolar city could influence the physical activity level among adults in the city.
National Park and Recreation Association of United States of America reported that the presence of active park features and support is linked with higher park use levels and higher moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (23). Several other studies also have observed the quality of facilities and amenities in the park to be significantly associated with increase in park visitation and increase in physical activity level in the neighborhood (24),(25). In the present study, the quality of stadiums and fitness centers were good which is indicated by their high usability score. Unfortunately, all the parks and playgrounds in the city scored poorly indicating poor quality of the facilities. Amenities like proper fencing, lighting, benches, shelters, bathrooms, toilets, locker facility, trash container and drinking water facility were either not available or were very poorly managed. Incivilities like unattended animals, auditory annoyance, litter or refuse and overgrown grass or shrubs were found in a considerable number of studied parks and playgrounds. Similar observation was made by a study conducted in Bangalore according to which only 4–6% parks and playgrounds had public toilet facilities, 1–3% had drinking water facilities, 56% had lighting facilities, 77% had seating area (26). A study assessing public parks in Delhi (capital city of India) reported that only 11% had toilets and only 44% of the public parks surveyed had recreational facilities for children (27). From this, it can be inferred that parks and playgrounds have not received adequate attention from the policy-makers, administrators and politicians both in the country and in the study area. All the concerned stakeholders should recognize parks, playgrounds and other sports facilities as public good and appreciate their role in promoting physical activity in the population along with other potential health benefits. In the light of the available evidence, the Kolar city administration should not only focus on increasing the number of recreation and sports facilities in the city but should equally focus on providing adequate amenities and enhancing the quality of those facilities.
Prevalence of physical inactivity in our study is 38.2%, this is similar to studies done in India (54.4%, 52.1%, 63.3%).(28) (29) (30). If we look at the pattern of physical inactivity, proportion of people whose work involves vigorous intensity activity is very low (5.7%). Considerable proportion of people’s work involve moderate intensive physical activity (38.4%) and half of study population are engaged in walking and bicycling for at least 10 min continuously which contributes to overall physical activity. The proportion of the population for whom sports, fitness and recreational activity contributes to overall physical activity is very low (20%). Interventions aimed at promoting physical activity in the population should have a comprehensive approach. In the study population focusing on increasing people’s participation in sports, fitness and recreational activities can improve the physical activity level in the population.
According to health education theories perception about availability and quality of the facilities plays an important role in promoting individual’s physical activity. In our study perception about quality of facilities is low and the proportion of people using facilities is also low. 13.1% expressed that unavailability of facilities was the reason for not participating in sports or fitness-related activities A study by Duncan et al reports that perceptions of neighborhood cleanliness and footpath condition showed associations with the likelihood of achieving sufficient levels of physical activity. (31)The study conducted by Marui et al reports that 36.8% and 35.2% of the subjects were inactive or did not reach 150 min/week on transport-related physical activity, respectively. The common reasons cited for the same were the absence of parks and athletic courts, presence of garbage, absence of street lighting were associated with lower levels of commuting PA (Marui W corseuil) (32). So, Kolar city administration should bring the overall changes in the system to improve the facilities and also improve the people’s perception which will lead to better physical activity at the population level. Planning an intervention along with public participation or community participation is essential. In light of this, it is likely that individuals will use services more frequently when their opinions and suggestions are taken into account while developing policies and programmes. In that directions people’s choice and preferences have been elucidated which is available in Table 5. Whenever the Kolar city administration wants to plan of improving the physical activity resources then these preferences should be considered.
Table 5
Peoples’ suggestions to promote walking, cycling and sports in Kolar City
Walking | Cycling | Sports |
1) Awareness program to educate and motivate people about the benefits of walking 2) Ensuring availability of well-maintained parks nearer to their houses 3) Safety along the access roads to the parks (e.g., roads with adequate street lights) 4) Expressed need for separate and safe places (e.g., parks) exclusively for women 5) Improve footpaths, road condition and implement measures to manage traffic 6) Reduce dust and pollution in the air by improving road condition, reduction in traffic, planting more trees in the city. 7) Few suggested increasing fuel (diesel/ petrol) prices so people avoid using their own vehicle and use walking, cycling or public transport as their commute 8) Some suggested formation of walking clubs to promote walking. | 1) Awareness program to educate and motivate people about the benefits of cycling 2) Improving road conditions to make them safe and suitable for cycling. 3) Many suggested the need for safe and separate pathways/ lanes/ roads/ places for cycling. 4) Some suggested formation of cycling clubs 5) Cycles to be made available at cheaper price | 1) Awareness program to educate and motivate people about the benefits of sports 2) Sports should be mandatory in schools and colleges. 3) Measures to reduce the use of mobile phones and utilize that time for sports /recreational activity. 4) Leveraging children and educational institutes to promote sports in families and communities 5) Increasing the number of facilities and proper maintenance of the existing facilities. 6) Safety along the access roads to the stadiums (e.g., roads with adequate street lights) 7) Expressed need for separate and safe sports facilities exclusively for women 8) Ensuring availability of free coaching services for various sports 9) Increase the number and type of sports events/tournaments in the city 10) To promote sports with the help of local sports personalities/professional players 11) Employers should provide free time and facilitate sports within the organization 12) Improve the economic condition so that people can spare time for sports instead of spending all their time for earning bread and butter. |
Active community, including cycling and walking is not only associated with increase in the level of physical activity but also yields several other health benefits (33) (34). Walking for 30 min or cycling for 20 min on most days reduces the mortality risk by at least 10%. Active commuting is associated with about 10% and 30% decrease in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes respectively. (33) Cycling for transportation and higher levels of overall non-exercise physical activity are associated with 35% reduction in risk for all-cause mortality. (Charles Mattews). (35) In the present study, use of own vehicle and walking were the most common preferred and used mode of transport for various purposes. Less than 5% of the participants preferred and used cycle as a mode of transport. Lack of time, more distances to travel, convenience, unsafe roads, unavailability of separate pathways/ footpath for walking and cycling, and owning a vehicle as a status symbol could have led to increased motorization and decreased the preference for active commuting in the study population.