title: Neighborhood Walkability and Adiposity in the Women's Health Initiative Cohort.
abstract: Neighborhood environments may play a role in the rising prevalence of obesity among older adults. However, research on built environmental correlates of obesity in this age group is limited. The current study aimed to explore associations of Walk Score, a validated measure of neighborhood walkability, with BMI and waist circumference in a large, diverse sample of older women.
  
  
  
  This study linked cross-sectional data on 6,526 older postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative Long Life Study (2012-2013) to Walk Scores for each participant's address (collected in 2012). Linear and logistic regression models were used to estimate associations of BMI and waist circumference with continuous and categorical Walk Score measures. Secondary analyses examined whether these relationships could be explained by walking expenditure or total physical activity. All analyses were conducted in 2015.
  
  
  
  Higher Walk Score was not associated with BMI or overall obesity after adjustment for sociodemographic, medical, and lifestyle factors. However, participants in highly walkable areas had significantly lower odds of abdominal obesity (waist circumference >88 cm) as compared with those in less walkable locations. Observed associations between walkability and adiposity were partly explained by walking expenditure.
  
  
  
  Findings suggest that neighborhood walkability is linked to abdominal adiposity, as measured by waist circumference, among older women and provide support for future longitudinal research on associations between Walk Score and adiposity in this population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
authors.forename: Urshila
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sriram
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California.
authors.forename: Andrea Z
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: LaCroix
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosocial and Community Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: Wendy E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Barrington
authors.affiliation: Departments of Social Medicine, Medicine, and Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Giselle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Corbie-Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, California.
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
authors.forename: Scott B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Going
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: LaMonte
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: JoAnn E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Manson
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.
authors.forename: Shawnita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sealy-Jefferson
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
authors.forename: Marcia L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Stefanick
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Molly E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Waring
authors.affiliation: Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Electronic address: rebeccaseguin@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Rebecca A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Seguin
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D055105:Waist Circumference; D016138:Walking; D016387:Women's Health