Understanding the Impact of Neighborhood Type on Physical Activity in Older Adults

BACKGROUND:

Despite the recognized benefits of regular physical activity for older adults, people over the age of 65 remain among the most inactive groups of the U.S. population. Efforts to understand the factors influencing physical activity in this important group have been limited primarily to demographic and psychosocial domains. The importance of the neighborhood environment in influencing a host of health, behavioral, and psychosocial outcomes has been recognized. However, to date, no systematic investigation of the relationship between objective and subjective environmental factors and objectively measured physical activity levels among older adults has been undertaken.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

This observational study will investigate whether seniors living in neighborhoods conducive to walking are more physically active, after adjusting for socioeconomic status (SES), than those living in neighborhoods less conducive to walking or other forms of physical activity for transportation or recreational purposes. Additional questions of interest concern the moderating effects of physical function and the proportion of seniors living nearby on the relationship between environment and physical activity. The study will take advantage of the sampling, recruitment, and data collection methods of an ongoing NIH-funded research project aimed at integrating public health and urban planning frameworks in studying the impacts of environmental factors on physical activity levels in younger adults. Population-based sampling methods will be used to recruit adults over 65 years of age who are living in more walkable versus less walkable neighborhoods of varying SES levels. Participants will be recruited from Seattle, Washington (n = 600) and Baltimore, Maryland (n = 600). In addition to objectively measured physical environment (using geographic information systems {GIS}) and physical activity levels (using accelerometry), self-reported neighborhood environment, physical activity, and quality of life variables of particular relevance to older adults will be assessed twice during a 12-month period.