title: Associations of location and perceived environmental attributes with walking in neighborhoods.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Health & Productivity Research Centre, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Humpel
authors.forename: Neville
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Leslie
authors.forename: Alison L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: Adrian E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Bauman
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Sallis
mesh_terms: 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*