Relationship between "Blue Space" Proximity and Children's Weight Status, Health Behaviors, and Health-Related Quality of Life among a Sample of Regional Victorian Primary School Children.

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Access to green space (<i>e.g.,</i> parks and gardens) has been associated with child health and wellbeing, whereas blue space (<i>e.g.,</i> coasts, lakes, and rivers) is understudied. Our aim was to determine whether proximity to the coast was associated with primary school children's weight status, modifiable health-related behaviors, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Exploratory cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the Whole of Systems Trial of Prevention Strategies for Childhood Obesity (WHOSTOPS) study, to estimate gender-specific differences in weight and behaviors across four bands of distance from the coast (&lt;5 km, 5 to &lt;25 km, 25 to &lt;50 km, ≥50 km). Linear and logistic models, with robust standard errors, adjusted for school year level, area-level socioeconomic position and rurality, and allowing for distance by gender interaction were fitted on data from 1216 children (aged 8.5-13 years). Main outcomes were weight status (categorical), physical activity (PA) (categorical), and global HRQoL score (continuous). <b><i>Results:</i></b> Compared with girls living in towns ≥50 km from the coast, those living within 5 km had lower odds for overweight/obesity [odds ratio (OR) = 0.50; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.37-0.67] and higher mean moderate-to-vigorous PA minutes (accelerometry) (<i>β</i> = 8.7; 95% CI: 2.0-15.5) and global HRQoL (<i>β</i> = 3.2; 95% CI: 1.4-5.0). Compared with boys living ≥50 km from the coast, those living within 5 km had higher odds of meeting self-reported PA guidelines (≥60 minutes/day) for ≥5 days (OR = 2.33; 95% CI: 1.75-3.10), and higher mean global HRQoL scores (<i>β</i> = 5.6; 95% CI: 1.9-9.3). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Living close to the coast was associated with some favorable health outcomes and behaviors, which differed between girls and boys.