BACKGROUND Neighborhood walkability shows significant positive relationship with residents' walking for transport in cross-sectional studies. We examined prospective relationships of neighborhood walkability with the change in walking behaviors over 4 years among middle-to-older aged adults (50-65 years) residing in Adelaide, Australia. METHODS A baseline survey was conducted during 2003-2004...

This study examined the influence of walkability on walking behaviour and assessed whether associations varied according to life-stage and population center (PC) size. Walkability scores were obtained for the six-digit postal codes of residential neighbourhoods of 11,200 Canadians, who participated in biennial assessments of the National Population Health Survey from 1994 to 2010. Participants ...

BACKGROUND Research has demonstrated that children who participate in active play are more likely to be physically active, thereby improving long-term health outcomes. Many adult studies have also shown that neighborhood built environments can encourage or discourage routine physical activity. Limited evidence has demonstrated that children who reside in neighborhoods with a built environment t...

OBJECTIVE To determine the perceived neighborhood environment (NE) variables that are associated with physical activity (PA) in urban areas in China. METHODS Parents of students at two junior high schools in Shanghai, one downtown and the other in the suburbs, were recruited to participate in the study. They completed an International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and Neighborhood En...

This study investigated differences in health outcomes between active and passive school commuters, and examined associations between parent perceptions of the neighborhood environment and active school commuting (ASC). One hundred-ninety-four children (107 girls), aged 9-10 years from ten primary schools in Liverpool, England, participated in this cross-sectional study. Measures of stature, bo...

Today's 'backseat generation' of children is more often driven to school. Active school travel (AST) can contribute up to 30% of recommended daily physical activity. Although governed by a complex set of factors, parents are considered 'gatekeepers' of children's travel mode decisions. Therefore, we investigate the relationship between parental support and children's AST. Data were from Active ...

BACKGROUND To investigate the association between perceived environmental attributes and leisure-time and transport-related physical activity. METHODS This was a cross-sectional survey involving 671 South Africans aged ≥35 years from urban and rural settings. International Physical Activity Questionnaire and Neighbourhood Walkability Scale were used to collect data. Multivariable logistic reg...

BACKGROUND Most public transit users walk to and from transit. We analyzed the relationship between transit commuting and objectively measured physical activity. METHODS Adults aged 20 to 65 working outside the home (n = 1237) were randomly selected from neighborhoods in Seattle and Baltimore regions. Neighborhoods had high or low median income and high or low mean walkability. Mean daily min...

BACKGROUND Environmental and policy factors play an important role in influencing people's lifestyles, physical activity (PA), and risks for developing obesity. Research suggests that more walkable communities are needed to sustain lifelong PA behavior, but there is a need to determine what local built environment features facilitate making being active the easy choice. PURPOSE This county-le...

The purpose of the present analysis was to use longitudinal data collected over 7 years (from 4 surveys) in the Residential Environments (RESIDE) Study (Perth, Australia, 2003–2012) tomore carefully examine the relationship of neighborhood walkability and destination accessibility with walking for transportation that has been seen in many cross-sectional studies. We compared effect estimates fr...