Relationships between the built environment and walking and weight status among older women in three U.S. States.

View Abstract

There are few studies of built environment associations with physical activity and weight status among older women in large geographic areas that use individual residential buffers to define environmental exposures. Among 23,434 women (70.0 ± 6.9 yr; range = 57-85) in 3 states, relationships between objective built environment variables and meeting physical activity recommendations via walking and weight status were examined. Differences in associations by population density and state were explored in stratified models. Population density (odds ratio [OR] =1.04 [1.02, 1.07]), intersection density (ORs = 1.18-1.28), and facility density (ORs = 1.01-1.53) were positively associated with walking. Density of physical activity facilities was inversely associated with overweight/obesity (OR = 0.69 [0.49, 0.96]). The strongest associations between facility density variables and both outcomes were found among women from higher population density areas. There was no clear pattern of differences in associations across states. Among older women, relationships between accessible facilities and walking may be most important in more densely populated settings.

Investigators
Abbreviation
J Aging Phys Act
Publication Date
2013-03-26
Volume
22
Issue
1
Page Numbers
114-25
Pubmed ID
23538637
Medium
Print-Electronic
Full Title
Relationships between the built environment and walking and weight status among older women in three U.S. States.
Authors
Troped PJ, Starnes HA, Puett RC, Tamura K, Cromley EK, James P, Ben-Joseph E, Melly SJ, Laden F