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The relation between neighborhood built environment and walking activity among older adults
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The relation between neighborhood built environment and walking activity among older adults

Corey L Nagel, Nichole E Carlson, Mark Bosworth and Yvonne L Michael
American journal of epidemiology, v 168(4), pp 461-468
15 Aug 2008
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwn158
PMID: 18567638
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwn158View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Oregon Self Efficacy Walking - psychology Cross-Sectional Studies Attitude to Health Humans Commerce Linear Models Logistic Models Male Urban Health Health Behavior Exercise - psychology Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic Analysis of Variance Time Factors Residence Characteristics - statistics & numerical data Female Surveys and Questionnaires Aged Poverty Areas Safety Automobile Driving Environment Design - statistics & numerical data
The association of neighborhood built environment with walking activity has received growing attention, although most studies have relied upon subjective measures of the built environment and few have examined the relation between built environment and walking among older adults. This 2001 study examined the relation between objectively measured characteristics of the local neighborhood and walking activity among a sample of 546 community-dwelling older adults in Portland, Oregon. A geographic information system was used to derive measures of the built environment within a quarter-mile (0.4 km) and half-mile (0.8 km) radius around each participant's residence. Multilevel regression analysis was used to examine the association of built environment with walking behavior. No association between built environment and the likelihood of walking or not walking was observed in this cohort of older adults. However, among those participants who reported some degree of walking activity, average time spent walking per week was significantly associated with amount of automobile traffic and number of commercial establishments in their local neighborhood. These findings suggest that built environment may not play a significant role in whether older adults walk, but, among those who do walk, it is associated with increased levels of activity.

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277 citations in Web of Science
306 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Web of Science research areas
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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