Abstract
Background
Outdoor gym installations have become a popular initiative by local government agencies globally to increase community-based physical activity. Despite their rapid spread, usage rates and user characteristics are not well described, particularly the mode/type of activity performed. This study aims to investigate the proportion and timing of outdoor gym use, and demographic characteristics of gym users across seven locations.
Method
The current study employed a cross-sectional research design with observational measures to examine outdoor gym use across seven locations in a large regional area in New South Wales, Australia. An outdoor gym audit including the number of pieces and names of the equipment, and type of outdoor gym was undertaken in the month prior to data collection.
Results
A total of 56 h of observation periods were conducted, during which 2950 individuals were observed moving through the observation target areas. Across all parks, 3.8% of individuals (n = 112) were observed using the outdoor gyms for exercise purposes. Males (65%) were more likely to be observed using the equipment than females (35%) and there were more young-to-middle aged adult (83.9%) users than seniors (6.3%), adolescents (4.5%) and children (3.6%).
Conclusion
Outdoor gyms have the potential to influence community-based physical inactivity rates as they appear to be a popular strategy by many government jurisdictions globally. To increase usage, local government agencies would benefit from working collaboratively with researchers to determine effective education and promotion strategies and in developing interventions to increase usage of outdoor gym equipment, particularly among women and older adults.
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Funding
This work is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (Grant number: APP1134914). MD is supported by a Career Development Fellowship (Grant number: APP1141606) from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. DL is supported by a Senior Research Fellowship (Grant number: APP 1154507) from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.
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Jansson, A.K., Lubans, D.R., Duncan, M.J. et al. Descriptive epidemiology of outdoor gym use in an Australian regional setting. J Public Health (Berl.) 30, 159–165 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01275-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01275-2