Article Text
Abstract
Background There have been mixed findings regarding the relationship between walkability and level of physical activity in adults.
Methods Participants from The REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) national cohort (N=7561) were used to examine the association between Walk Score and physical activity measured via accelerometry. The subsample included geographically diverse adults, who identified as black or white, and were over the age of 45. Linear regression was used to examine the direct effects, as well as the interaction, of Walk Score by sex, age and race.
Results The majority of participants lived in a ‘Very Car-Dependent’ location (N=4115). Only 527 lived in a location that was ‘Very Walkable/Walker’s Paradise’. Living in a location with a Walk Score of ‘Very Car-Dependent’ compared with ‘Very Walkable/Walker’s Paradise’ was associated with 19% (0.81; 95% CI 0.73 to 0.90) lower predicted minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day, after adjustment for covariates. There was no evidence of statistically significant interactions between Walk Score and sex, age or race (p>0.05).
Conclusion Accumulated daily time in moderate to vigorous physical activity was higher for participants living in neighbourhoods designated as ‘Very Walkable/Walker’s Paradise’. This effect was not moderated by sex, age or race of participants.
- walk score®
- MVPA
- physical activity
- accelerometer
- neighborhood
- REGARDS
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Footnotes
Contributors ET made substantial contributions to study conception, data analysis, interpretation of the data and drafting the manuscript. SJ made substantial contributions to study conception, data acquisition and interpretation of the data. AB made substantial contributions to data acquisition and data analysis. SH made substantial contributions to study conception, data acquisition and interpretation of the data. VH made substantial contributions to study conception and data acquisition. BH made substantial contributions to study conception, data acquisition and data analysis. PC made substantial contributions to interpretation of the data. NC made substantial contributions to study conception, data acquisition, data analysis, interpretation of the data and drafting the manuscript. All authors critically revised drafts of the work for intellectual content, read and approved the final manuscript to be published, and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Funding This research project was supported by investigator-initiated grants (R01 NS092706, NC and SJ, MPIs and R01 NS061846, SH, PI) and by a cooperative agreement (U01 NS041588) all from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. Additional funding was provided by an unrestricted research grant from The Coca-Cola Company.
Disclaimer The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke or the National Institutes of Health.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent for publication Obtained.
Ethics approval The study was approved by all participating Institutional Review Boards.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.