title: Cross Sectional Association between Spatially Measured Walking Bouts and Neighborhood Walkability.
abstract: Walking is the most popular choice of aerobic physical activity to improve health among U.S. adults. Physical characteristics of the home neighborhood can facilitate or hinder walking. The purpose of this study was to quantify neighborhood walking, using objective methods and to examine the association between counts of walking bouts in the home neighborhood and neighborhood walkability. This was a cross-sectional study of 106 adults who wore accelerometers and GPS devices for two weeks. Walking was quantified within 1, 2, and 3 km Euclidean (straight-line) and network buffers around the geocoded home location. Walkability was estimated using a commercially available index. Walking bout counts increased with buffer size and were associated with walkability, regardless of buffer type or size (p < 0.001). Quantification of walking bouts within (and outside) of pre-defined neighborhood buffers of different sizes and types allowed for the specification of walking locations to better describe and elucidate walking behaviors. These data support the concept that neighborhood characteristics can influence walking among adults.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Nutritional Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. liangdar@uw.edu.
authors.forename: Liang-Dar
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. phurvitz@u.washington.edu.
authors.forename: Philip M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Hurvitz
authors.affiliation: Nutrition & Exercise Physiology Program, Washington State University, Spokane, WA 99210, USA. glen.duncan@wsu.edu.
authors.forename: Glen E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Duncan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004779:Environment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D016138:Walking; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Geographic Information Systems; residence characteristics; twins; walking