Attributes of Environments Supporting Walking

Abstract

Multinomial models estimated the odds of people engaging in moderate walking (<149 min/wk) and in walking sufficiently to meet recommendations for health (150+ min/ wk), relative to not walking" and in walking sufficiently, relative to walking moderately. A base model consisted of survey variables, and final models incorporated both survey and environmental variables. RESULTS. Survey variables strongly associated with walking sufficiently to enhance health included household income, not having difficulty walking, using transit, perceiving social support for walking walking outside of the neighborhood, and having a dog (p < .01). The models isolated 14 environmental variables associated with walking sufficiently (pseudo R2 up to 0. 46). Measures of distance to neighborhood destinations dominated the results: shorter distances to grocery stores/markets, restaurants, and retail stores, but longer distances to offices or mixed-use buildings (p < .01 or .05). The density of the respondent's parcel was also strongly associated with walking sufficiently (p < .01). Conclusions. The study offered valid environmental measures of neighborhood walkability.

The risk of pedestrian injury and fatality in collisions with motor vehicles, a social ecological study of state routes and city streets in King County, Washington

“…Documented elsewhere (Moudon et al, 2007) the study isolated 14 objectively measured land use and transportation infrastructure variables significantly associated with walking at health-enhancing levels. They included shorter distances to grocery stores/markets, restaurants, and retail stores, but longer distances to offices or mixed-use buildings.…”

Pet Ownership and Cardiovascular Risk

“…80 In contrast to the findings in the above studies, a study of 412 patients with acute coronary syndrome found that the 1-year risk of readmission or cardiac death was not statistically different between dog owners and nonowners (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 0.759-3.321; P=0. 22) and was greater in cat owners than in nonowners (OR, 3.22; 95% CI, 1.44-7.19; P=0.004).…”

“Do you see what I see?” – Correlates of multidimensional measures of neighborhood types and perceived physical activity–related neighborhood barriers and facilitators for urban youth

“…Recently, studies found a significant association between access to destinations and walking for transport (Cerin et al, 2007a;McCormack et al, 2008). In addition, perceptions of certain neighborhood features (e.g., well-lit streets, biking or walking trails, pedestrian safety, traffic volume and speed, disorder, and crime) are associated with physical activity (Evenson et al, 2006Franzini et al, 2008;Mota et al, 2005;Moudon et al, 2007;Sallis and Kerr, 2006;Sampson and Raudenbush, 2004).…”