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Home / American Journal of Health Behavior, Volume 36, Number 6

Neighborhood Environment Profiles for Physical Activity Among Older Adults

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Objectives: To explore among older adults whether multivariate neighborhood profiles were associated with physical activity (PA) and BMI. Methods: Adults (66-97 years) were recruited from Baltimore-Washington, DC (n=360), and Seattle-King County, Washington (n=368), regions. Latent profile analyses were conducted using the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale. ANCOVA models tested for criterion validity of profiles by examining relationships to PA and BMI. Results: Neighborhood profiles differed significantly by as much as 10 minutes/day for moderate-to-vigorous PA, 1.1 hours/week for walking for errands, and almost 50 minutes/week for leisure PA. Conclusions: Environmental variables resulted in meaningful neighborhood patterns that explained large differences in seniors' health outcomes.

Keywords: BUILT ENVIRONMENT; EXERCISE; FINITE MIXTURE MODELING; OBESITY; POLICY

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: University of California, San Diego, Division of Behavioral Medicine, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA. [email protected] 2: University of California, San Diego, Division of Behavioral Medicine, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA 3: University of British Columbia, School of Community and Regional Planning, Vancouver, BC, Canada 4: Seattle's Children's Hospital, University of Washington, MPW 8-1 Child, Health and Behavioral Development, Seattle, WA, USA 5: Stanford University School of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Research & Policy, and Stanford Prevention Research Center, Department of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

Publication date: 01 November 2012

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  • The American Journal of Health Behavior seeks to improve the quality of life through multidisciplinary health efforts in fostering a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of both individuals and social systems as they relate to health behaviors.

    The Journal aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of personal attributes, personality characteristics, behavior patterns, social structure, and processes on health maintenance, health restoration, and health improvement; to disseminate knowledge of holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to designing and implementing effective health programs; and to showcase health behavior analysis skills that have been proven to affect health improvement and recovery.

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