Recreovía program as a promising environmental and policy intervention in Latin America to promote physical activity

Background: Free community-based physical activity (PA) programs in parks, have been identified as promising environmental and policy interventions in Latin America. Currently at least five countries have reported the implementation of these programs; however the evaluation of these programs is limited.

Aim:To assess park use and PA levels in public parks with and without the Recreovia program in Bogota, Colombia.

Methods: We assessed PA levels at the community level in nine public parks  (3 parks with Recreovía, 3 parks that will have Recreovía and 3 parks without Recreovía) in the city of Bogota, Colombia during 2013-2014. We used the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) in 211 target areas in parks.

Results:A total of 1,533 people were interviewed and 4,925 people were observed during 702 observation visits. There were more users per population density in parks with Recreovia program (n=3,376; 22.5% per population density within 500m) compared to parks without Recreovia (n=1,549; 2.0% persons per population density within 500m). The proportion of women was higher in parks with Recreovia as compared to the parks without Recreovia (53% vs. 40% vs. 33%; p<0.001). Women using parks with Recreovia were less likely to be sedentary (25% vs. 39% p<0.0001) and more likely to engage in moderate-to-vigorous activity (74.6% vs. 60.8% p<0.0001) compared to women in parks without Recreovia. Among men, the activity pattern was the opposite.

Conclusion: Among women, the provision of cost-free community programs are promising for increasing PA levels.