American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on January 27, 2008
American Journal of Epidemiology 2008 167(8):944-953; doi:10.1093/aje/kwm391
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS |
Association between Neighborhood Active Living Potential and Walking
1 Groupe de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Santé, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2 The Léa-Roback Research Center on Social Inequalities of Health in Montreal, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
3 Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
4 Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Ste-Justine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
5 Faculty of Nursing, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
6 Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
7 Department of Kinesiology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8 Direction de la Santé Publique, Régie Régionale de la Santé et des Services Sociaux—Montréal-Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
9 Direction de la Santé Publique, Régie Régionale de la Santé et des Services Sociaux— Montérégie, Quebec, Canada
10 Service des Loisirs, Ville de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Correspondence to Dr. Lise Gauvin, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Montreal, P.O. Box 6128, Downtown Station, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada (e-mail: lise.gauvin.2{at}umontreal.ca).
Received for publication September 21, 2006. Accepted for publication December 11, 2007.
This paper examines the association between neighborhood active living potential and walking among middle-aged and older adults. A sample of 2,614 (61.1% women) persons aged 45 years or older and living in one of 112 census tracts in Montreal, Canada, were recruited between February and May of 2005 to participate in a 20-minute telephone survey. Data were linked to observational data on neighborhood active living potential in the 112 census tracts and analyzed through multilevel modeling. Greater density of destinations in the census tract was associated with greater likelihoods of walking for any reason at least 5 days per week for at least 30 minutes (odds ratio = 1.53, 95% confidence interval: 1.21, 1.94). Associations were attenuated but remained statistically significant after controlling for socioeconomic, health, lifestyle, and other physical activity characteristics. Sensitivity analyses showed that associations were robust across smaller and larger volumes of walking. No associations were found between dimensions of neighborhood active living potential and walking for recreational reasons. The authors conclude that a larger number and variety of neighborhood destinations in one's residential environment are associated with more walking and possibly more utilitarian walking among middle-aged or older adults.
exercise; physical fitness; residence characteristics; social conditions; social environment
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  F. Li, P. Harmer, B. J. Cardinal, M. Bosworth, D. Johnson-Shelton, J. M. Moore, A. Acock, and N. Vongjaturapat Built Environment and 1-Year Change in Weight and Waist Circumference in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Portland Neighborhood Environment and Health Study Am. J. Epidemiol., February 15, 2009; 169(4): 401 - 408. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|