Neighborhood walkability, physical activity, and walking for transportation: A cross-sectional study of older adults living on low income

Abstract

BackgroundWalking, and in particular, outdoor walking, is the most common form of physical activity for older adults. To date, no study investigated the association between the neighborhood built environment and physical activity habits of older adults of low SES. Thus, our overarching aim was to examine the association between the neighborhood built environment and the spectrum of physical activity and walking for transportation in older adults of low socioeconomic status.MethodsCross-sectional data were from the Walk the Talk Study, collected in 2012. Participants (n = 161, mean age = 74 years) were in receipt of a rental subsidy for low income individuals and resided in neighbourhoods across Metro Vancouver, Canada. We used the Street Smart Walk Score to objectively characterize the built environment main effect (walkability), accelerometry for objective physical activity, and the Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS) questionnaire to measure walking for transportation. We used regression analyses to examine associations of objectively measured physical activity [total volume, light intensity and moderate intensity physical activity (MVPA)] and self-reported walking for transportation (any, frequency, duration) with walkability. We adjusted analyses for person- and environment-level factors associated with older adult physical activity.ResultsNeighbourhood walkability was not associated with physical activity volume or intensity and self-reported walking for transportation, with one exception. Each 10-point increase in Street Smart Walk Score was associated with a 45% greater odds of any walking for transportation (compared with none; OR = 1.45, 95% confidence interval = 1.18, 1.78). Sociodemographic, physical function and attitudinal factors were significant predictors of physical activity across our models.ConclusionsThe lack of associations between most of the explored outcomes may be due to the complexity of the relation between the person and environment. Given that this is the first study to explore these associations specifically in older adults living on low income, this study should be replicated in other settings.

Association between neighbourhood convenience stores and independent living in older people in Japan

“…Older individuals’ behaviour is influenced by a confluence of environmental and individual factors . For older individuals facing functional decline, shopping itself is a challenge and difficult to do independently .…”

Neighborhood Walkability and BMI Change: A National Study of Veterans in Large Urban Areas

“…These strategies are fueled partly by research showing that people living in more walkable communities tend to be more physically active and weigh less (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11). But the results in the literature are inconsistent (12)(13)(14)(15)(16). The correlation between neighborhood walkability and body weight seems to be different for men and women, as well as for older and younger people (3,5,6,17,18), and some studies have found no relationship between neighborhood walkability and body weight (19)(20)(21).…”

Associations of neighborhood walkability with intensity‐ and bout‐specific physical activity and sedentary behavior of older adults in Japan

“…Some recent studies using accelerometers with older adult participants have focused on associations of environment attributes with overall MVPA and LPA, but they did not examine associations with bout‐specific MVPA, overall SB, and prolonged SB . Hawkesworth et al ., for example, found that population density was unfavorably associated with LPA time, but walkability was not .…”

“…The strengths of the present study include the use of objective measures of both walkability and activity outcomes, and descriptions of detailed activity patterns, which goes beyond previous studies examining associations with overall MVPA and LPA . We provided results from a seldom‐studied Asian population that differed from prior studies of associations of built environment with activity carried out primarily in Western countries.…”