Green space access boosts effectiveness of screen time reduction programs

When children have a place to play outside, programs aimed at reducing their screen time use are more successful, according to a University of Michigan study.

The study also found that such programs are less successful in neighborhoods where children have less access to green spaces, which include areas such as forests, shrubland, open spaces and grassland, according to lead author Ian-Marshall Lang, a researcher at U-M's School of Kinesiology and first author of the study. 

Because prior studies have shown differences in the effectiveness of community programming and policies by race and ethnicity, we set out to show why this may be the case. We thought that access to green space might be a key factor, given that national research shows racial and ethnic inequities in green space availability. This raises the question of who has access to high green space. Both our study and national data show green space is less common in communities with higher Hispanic and Black populations.

These unfair differences in green space access might explain why community programs and policies are less effective in reducing screen time among different racial groups. To address screen time inequities, we need solutions that create fair, just and healthy environments for all communities."

Ian-Marshall Lang, researcher at U-M's School of Kinesiology

The study is published in the journal Health and Place.

Lang and colleagues drew upon data from the Healthy Communities Study, which examines the use of community programs and policies and obesity-related behaviors among racially and ethnically diverse children. The researchers also linked new information about the participants' communities and neighborhoods so they could better understand what the children's neighborhoods looked like.

About two-thirds of children ages 6 to 17 exceed the recommended limit of two hours of screen time each day. Community programs and policies aim to reduce children's screen use by providing community-based education and skill development programs for parents, or no-cost physical activity opportunities for children. But these programs and policies seem to fare better when children have a space to play outside of their homes.

"Neighborhood green spaces may draw children out of the house and give them an alternative space to engage in activities other than screen time. Thus, in neighborhoods where green space is sparser, the environment may be less encouraging and less successful at pulling children away from the screen," Lang said. "Simply increasing the intensity of screen-time reduction programs may not be effective in environments that do not support behavior change."

Children in neighborhoods composed of more than 30% Black residents were more likely to exceed daily screen time limits-and neighborhoods with about 30% Black and Hispanic residents were more likely to lack green space.

"More intense programs were associated with lower screen time in places with plenty of green space nearby, but not places with low or moderate green space," Lang said. "This is important because not everyone in the United States has the same access to green space. We know there are racial and ethnic inequities in green space access in the U.S., and that those inequities are connected to population health outcomes. Our findings add to this research by showing that inequities in green space access may also affect the success of programs aimed at reducing kids' screen time."

The researchers say their study did not conclude a causal relationship but suggests that simply increasing the intensity of community programming may not be a universal solution to addressing childhood screen time in the absence of supportive environments.

"This work is particularly important for organizations that have the responsibility and power to make equitable investments in green spaces to support the health of children," Lang said. "Our findings provide evidence-based support for initiatives like the 10-Minute Walk Program that calls on city mayors to address inequities in green space access by ensuring that everyone in U.S. cities has access to a quality park within a 10-minute walk of their home."

Research reported in the publication was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01HL137731. 

The original Healthy Communities Study was funded by the NHLBI of NIH, in collaboration with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Cancer Institute, and NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, Department of Health and Human Services, under award number HHSN268201000041C.

University of Michigan co-authors included senior author Natalie Colabianchi, as well as Anna Fischer, Cathy Antonakos, Stephanie Miller and Rebecca Hasson. Other co-authors were Russell Pate of the University of South Carolina and Vicki Collie-Akers of the University of Kansas.