Associations of location and perceived environmental attributes with walking in neighborhoods.
OBJECTIVE
Ecological models highlight the importance of environmental influences. We examined associations of coastal versus noncoastal location and perceived environmental attributes with neighborhood walking, total walking, and total activity.


METHODS
Telephone interviews with 800 faculty and general staff of an Australian university.


RESULTS
Men were significantly more likely to walk in their neighborhood if they lived in a coastal location (odds ratio [OR] = 1.66), and they highly rated environmental "aesthetics" (OR = 1.91), "convenience" of facilities (OR = 2.20), and "access" to facilities (OR = 1.98). For women, neighborhood walking was associated with high ratings of "convenience" (OR = 3.78) but was significantly less likely if they had high ratings for "access" (OR = 0.48). For total walking and total physical activity, few significant associations emerged.


CONCLUSIONS
Environmental attributes were related to walking in the neighborhood but not to more general activity indices. Understanding gender-specific environmental correlates of physical activity should be a priority.
Humpel
Nancy
N
Health & Productivity Research Centre, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
Owen
Neville
N
Leslie
Eva
E
Marshall
Alison L
AL
Bauman
Adrian E
AE
Sallis
James F
JF
D001315:Australia; D001493:Bathing Beaches; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D016138:Walking / Q000523:psychology*