Using objective and subjective measures of neighborhood greenness and accessible destinations for understanding walking trips and BMI in Seattle, Washington.
OBJECTIVE
Examine the influence of destinations within walking distance of a residence and vegetation on walking trips and body mass index (BMI).


METHODS
Cross-sectional analysis of data from residences with varying accessibility and greenness.


METHODS
Seattle, Washington.


METHODS
Stratified random sample of residents, stratified by accessibility and greenness. RESPONSE RATE: 17.5 %, 529 respondents.


METHODS
Accessibility and greenness were measured objectively by Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Network Analysis and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), respectively. Self-reported destinations, natural features, walking trips, BMI, and importance of destinations were measured through a postal survey.


RESULTS
Objective accessibility were related to walking trips per month (r(2) = .110, p < .0001), as was subjective greenness (r(2) = .051, p < .0001), although objective measures of actual greenness were not. In areas with high accessibility, BMI was lower in areas that had high NDVI, or more greenness (r(2) = .129428, model p < .0001; t-test of interaction p = .0257). Low NDVI areas were associated with overestimation of the number of destinations within walking distance (F1, 499 = 11.009, p = .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Objective and subjective measurements of accessibility and greenness led to an understanding of variation among walking trips and BMI in different neighborhoods.
Tilt
Jenna H
JH
Urban Ecology Program, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Box 352100, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. jennat@u.washington.edu
Unfried
Thomas M
TM
Roca
Belen
B
D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004779:Environment Design; D005260:Female; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D005843:Geography; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010944:Plants; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000145:classification*; D016138:Walking / Q000523:psychology*; D014861:Washington