Perceived Neighborhood Environmental Characteristics and Walking Behaviors

Walking is a popular form of leisure-time physical activity and an effective way to increase physical activity in transportation and occupational settings. Little is known about the relationships between environmental supports for PA and walking behaviors in the U.S. population. PURPOSE: To identify the associations between self-report of neighborhood environmental features for PA and individual walking in a representative sample of U.S. adults. METHODS: 10,461 adults (4,438 men and 6,023 women) responded to the National PA and Weight Loss Survey, a random digit dial survey of US households conducted in 2002. Respondents reported the presence or absence of neighborhood features (i.e., shops/transit stops within walking distance from home, sidewalks on most streets, places to bicycle, low-cost/free recreational facilities, four-way traffic stops, and crime rate), individual walking, and demographic data. Walking was obtained from the IPAQ as d/wk and min/day in work, home, travel, and recreation, sport, exercise, or leisure settings and grouped as: regular (> 5 d/wk and >30 min/d), occasional (some walking, does not meet regular walking), or non-walker (no walking). Logistic regression was used to obtain odds ratios (OR, P <.05) for the likelihood of a specified walking level given the presence of the environmental support. OR's, adjusted for sex, age, race/ethnicity, and education, were obtained using SUDAAN. Non-walker was the referent group. RESULTS: Those with shops within walking distance of home, living near a transit stop, having neighborhood sidewalks, places to bicycle, and free/low cost recreation places nearby were more likely to be regular walkers than those without the supports (OR's = 1.28 to 1.34, P <.05). Also, having shops within walking distance from home, living near a transit stop, having neighborhood sidewalks, and free or low cost recreation places nearby were more likely to be occasional walkers than those without supports (OR's 1.16 to 1.27, P <.05). Differences were observed by sex, age, and race/ethnicity with safety from crime associated with greater levels of walking in women, non-Hispanic whites, and non-Hispanic blacks (OR's 1.23 to 1.57, P <.05). Sidewalks and free/low cost recreational facilities were supportive of walking in Hispanics (OR's 1.64 to 2.04, P < .05). CONCLUSION: Environments supportive of purposeful and recreational walking/ cycling, having free/low cost recreational spaces, and low neighborhood crime were associated with higher levels of walking. These national results suggest environmental changes that could increase walking.