Table 1.
Characteristics of New York City Physical Activity (PA) & Transit Survey Participants.
| Categorical Variables | All Participants | Sometimes/Often Park-Based PA | Rarely/Never Park-Based PA |
|---|---|---|---|
| N = 3652 | N = 1510 | N = 2142 | |
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | |
| Age group | |||
| 18–24 years | 266 (7.3) | 114 (7.5) | 152 (7.1) |
| 25–44 years | 1139 (31.2) | 553 (36.6) | 586 (27.4) |
| 45–64 years | 1400 (38.3) | 567 (37.5) | 833 (38.9) |
| 65+ years | 839 (23.0) | 273 (18.1) | 566 (26.4) |
| Missing | 8 (0.2) | 3 (0.2) | 5 (0.2) |
| Gender | |||
| Female | 2151 (58.9) | 839 (55.6) | 1312 (61.3) |
| Male | 1501 (41.1) | 671 (44.4) | 830 (38.7) |
| Race | |||
| White, non-Hispanic | 1598 (43.8) | 673 (44.6) | 925 (43.2) |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 867 (23.7) | 318 (21.1) | 549 (25.6) |
| Hispanic | 819 (22.4) | 364 (24.1) | 455 (21.2) |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 293 (8.0) | 124 (8.2) | 169 (7.9) |
| Other a | 75 (2.1) | 31 (2.1) | 44 (2.1) |
| Born in United States | |||
| Yes | 2253 (61.8) | 921 (61.0) | 1332 (62.2) |
| Language spoken at home | |||
| English | 2818 (77.2) | 1148 (76.0) | 1670 (78.0) |
| Spanish | 457 (12.5) | 218 (14.4) | 239 (11.2) |
| Russian | 95 (2.6) | 28 (1.9) | 67 (3.1) |
| Chinese | 131 (3.6) | 42 (2.8) | 89 (4.2) |
| Other | 139 (3.8) | 70 (4.6) | 69 (3.2) |
| Missing | 12 (0.3) | 4 (0.3) | 8 (0.4) |
| Employment status | |||
| Employed | 1976 (54.1) | 855 (56.6) | 1121 (52.3) |
| Unemployed | 325 (8.9) | 151 (10.0) | 174 (8.1) |
| Not in the labor force | 1340 (36.7) | 498 (33.0) | 842 (39.3) |
| Missing | 11 (0.3) | 6 (0.4) | 5 (0.2) |
| Education | |||
| Some high school | 463 (12.7) | 189 (12.5) | 274 (12.8) |
| High school graduate or equivalent | 904 (24.8) | 350 (23.2) | 554 (25.9) |
| Some college | 778 (21.3) | 302 (20.0) | 476 (22.2) |
| 4-year college graduate or higher | 1496 (41.0) | 669 (44.3) | 827 (38.6) |
| Missing | 11 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 11 (0.5) |
| Marital status | |||
| Married or living together | 1607 (44.0) | 733 (48.5) | 874 (40.8) |
| Divorced or separated | 644 (17.6) | 253 (16.8) | 391 (18.3) |
| Widowed | 378 (10.4) | 115 (7.6) | 263 (12.3) |
| Never married | 989 (27.1) | 401 (26.6) | 588 (27.5) |
| Missing | 34 (0.9) | 8 (0.5) | 26 (1.2) |
| Tobacco use (past 30 days) | |||
| Most or all days | 377 (10.3) | 135 (8.9) | 242 (11.3) |
| Some days | 194 (5.3) | 87 (5.8) | 107 (5.0) |
| Never | 3078 (84.3) | 1287 (85.2) | 1791 (83.6) |
| Missing | 3 (0.1) | 1 (0.1) | 2 (0.1) |
| Physical activity level b | |||
| Sufficiently active | 2639 (72.3) | 1196 (79.2) | 1443 (67.4) |
| Insufficiently active | 692 (18.9) | 238 (15.8) | 454 (21.2) |
| Inactive | 316 (8.7) | 75 (5.0) | 241 (11.3) |
| Missing | 5 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (0.2) |
| Usually physically active with others | |||
| Yes, with another person or group | 746 (20.4) | 397 (26.3) | 349 (16.3) |
| No, alone | 1469 (40.2) | 603 (39.9) | 866 (40.4) |
| Inactive in past 7 days or Don’t know | 1437 (39.4) | 510 (33.8) | 927 (43.3) |
| Body mass index (BMI) | |||
| Underweight | 72 (2.0) | 23 (1.5) | 49 (2.3) |
| Normal weight | 1353 (37.0) | 620 (41.1) | 733 (34.2) |
| Overweight | 1250 (34.2) | 509 (33.7) | 741 (34.6) |
| Obese | 955 (26.2) | 350 (23.2) | 605 (28.2) |
| Missing | 22 (0.6) | 8 (0.5) | 14 (0.7) |
| History of depression diagnosis | |||
| Yes | 536 (14.7) | 196 (13.0) | 340 (15.9) |
| No | 3108 (85.1) | 1313 (87.0) | 1795 (83.8) |
| Missing | 8 (0.2) | 1 (0.1) | 7 (0.3) |
| Activity limitations due to health | |||
| Yes | 750 (20.5) | 240 (15.9) | 510 (23.8) |
| Concern about park crime during day | |||
| Yes | 788 (21.6) | 284 (18.8) | 504 (23.5) |
| No or Don’t know | 2864 (78.4) | 1226 (81.2) | 1638 (76.5) |
| Car ownership | |||
| Yes | 1617 (44.3) | 674 (44.6) | 943 (44.0) |
| No | 2024 (55.4) | 831 (55.0) | 1193 (55.7) |
| Missing | 11 (0.3) | 5 (0.3) | 6 (0.3) |
| Dog ownership | |||
| Yes | 566 (15.5) | 279 (18.5) | 287 (13.4) |
| Continuous Variables | M (SD) | M (SD) | M (SD) |
| Mental distress (days in past 30) | 3.7 (7.7) | 3.1 (6.8) | 4.2 (8.3) |
| Park use for physical activity c | 2.2 (1.1) | 3.4 (0.5) | 1.4 (0.5) |
| Park proximity to home d | 2.7 (1.0) | 2.9 (0.9) | 2.6 (1.0) |
a Other race includes American Indian, Alaska Native, mixed race, and other race. b Physical activity level based on meeting 2008 recommendations for moderate-vigorous physical activity. c Average frequency of park use for physical activity approximates “rarely” among options “often”, “sometimes”, “rarely” and “never”. d Average proximity of nearest park to home reflects about 10 min by walking. Abbreviations: PA is physical activity, N is number, M is mean, and SD is standard deviation.