Associations of perceived daily walking duration with residential food outlets in small Chinese cities: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: The impact of food outlets (particularly those trading in fast food) on weight gain has been evidenced by numerous studies, but the potential health benefits of these amenities have received less attention. This study aims to examine the associations between residential food environments and perceived daily walking duration (DailyWalk) in small Chinese cities. Methods: The study draws upon two interviewer-administered questionnaire surveys (n=354) conducted in Yuncheng and Suihua between 2017-2018. Logistic regression models were used to examine the associations of DailyWalk (i.e. >60 minutes and ≤60 minutes per day) with seven different typologies of food outlet (i.e. market, fruit/vegetable street vending, snack/breakfast street vending, grocery store, supermarket, restaurant and café/tea house) at three levels of walking distance (i.e. 1–5 minutes, 6–10 minutes and over 10 minutes). The associations were further explored through two different age groups (i.e. 18–35 and 36–59) and by food environment diversity.Results: With the exception of café/tea house, the other six food amenities were positively associated with DailyWalk. After adjusting for socio-economic variables, the associations of grocery store and supermarket weakened. Higher levels of food environment diversity were associated with a longer DailyWalk. Among the two age groups studied, food outlets were more associated with older adults’ DailyWalk.Conclusions: Our study provides the first quantitative investigation of the walking benefits of food outlets including informal street vendors in small Chinese cities. These findings can help urban designers and policy makers to increase physical activity and create a healthy living environment.