Association of Built Environment with Physical Activity and Physical Fitness in Men and Women Living inside the City Wall of Xi’an, China

Abstract

<jats:p>This study was to investigate the association of built environment (BE) with physical activity (PA) and physical fitness of residents inside the city wall of Xi’an, one of the most historic cities in China. The cross-sectional study was conducted among 728 adults in this area. BE and PA were measured by Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale and International Physical Activity Questionnaire, respectively. Body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, blood pressure (BP), lung capacity, curl up, sit and reach, reaction time, balance, and grip strength were also measured. The results showed, for men, aesthetics was positively associated with total and leisure-time PA, and curl-up tests, respectively. Walking/cycling facilities were positively associated with leisure-time PA. Street connectivity was negatively associated with leisure-time PA and BMI. Residential density was positively correlated with BMI. Access to service was positively associated with lung capacity. Crime safety was negatively correlated with reaction time. For women, residential density was negatively associated with transportation PA and BP. Street connectivity was positively associated with curl-up test. The results suggest some BE attributes are positively related to PA and physical fitness in this population. Creating more PA-supportive BEs is recommended in this historic area along with urban conservation.</jats:p>

Comparison Study of Perceived Neighborhood-Built Environment and Elderly Leisure-Time Physical Activity between Hangzhou and Wenzhou, China

“…However, the associations between built environment and physical activity level were still controversial because of different survey participants and places. Sun et al found that residential density was negatively associated with women physical activity in China [ 25 ]. The similar results were also found in other Chinese studies [ 26 , 27 ].…”

“…Sun et al also suggested that larger residential density leads to heavier traffic, and people in the denser city tend to choose shop online to avoid the traffic. This reduced the physical activity of people indirectly [ 25 ].…”

“…The relative studies were conducted in cities located in the east region [ 27 , 32 , 33 ], south region [ 34 ] and northwest region [ 25 ] of mainland, China. Most of these studies focused on adults over 18 years old [ 25 , 27 , 33 , 34 ], and only few studies aimed at the elderly over 60 years old [ 32 ]. Wu et al found that street connectivity was positively associated with elderly physical activity in Nanjing [ 32 ].…”

“…Wu et al found that street connectivity was positively associated with elderly physical activity in Nanjing [ 32 ]. However, a negatively association between street connectivity and physical activity of adults was suggested in Shanghai and Xi’an [ 25 , 33 ]. The different results were mainly caused by diverse participants.…”

“…However, adults do not have so much free time to engage in LTPA. They may avoid traveling during rush hour, which reduces LTPA [ 25 ]. Some studies from Hongkong also focused on elderly [ 26 , 35 ], but the demographic profile and social-economic status of participants in Hongkong are slightly different from those conducted in mainland.…”