The relationship between sports facility accessibility and physical activity among Korean adults

BACKGROUND The benefits of physical activity on physical and mental health are well known. The accessibility of sports facilities is reported to have considerable association with the amount of physical activity a person participates in. Therefore, we investigated the association between subjectively assessed accessibility of sports facilities and physical activity among Korean adults. METHODS We obtained data from the 2012 Community Health Survey. Physical activity was measured based on weekly metabolic equivalent task (MET) hours according to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Sociodemographic, economic, and health variables were used as covariates in a logistic regression model. RESULTS A total 201,723 participants were included in this study. Participants with easy access to sports facilities participated in physical activity more often than those without easy access (OR = 1.16, 95 % CI 1.13-1.20). More physical activity was generally observed if participants had a history of depression or if participants were among the white-collar or urban subgroups. CONCLUSION Our results showed that the accessibility of sports facilities is associated with physical activity. Therefore, it is crucial to consider the accessibility of sports facilities when promoting an environment conducive to physical activity or designing programs for enhancing physical activity.