An examination of the associations between walkable neighbourhoods and obesity and self-rated health in Canadians

Rachel C. Colley · Tanya Christidis · Isabelle Michaud · Michael Tjepkema · Nancy A. Ross

23 citations0/0 files storedPubMed

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Urban Transport and Accessibility Physical Activity and Health Urban Green Space and Health

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Two-thirds of Canadian adults and one-third of Canadian children and youth are overweight or obese. There is increased interest in identifying features of the built environment-such as walkability-that facilitate lifestyle habits associated with reduced obesity and improved health. The purpose of this study is to examine how the associations between walkability and both obesity and self-rated health vary by age in Canadians using a new walkability dataset. DATA AND METHODS: The 2016 Canadian Active Living Environments (Can-ALE) database was attached to Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS; 2009 to 2015) data. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light physical activity (LPA) and step counts were measured in the CHMS using the Actical accelerometer (n = 10,852; ages 3 to 79). Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were measured in a mobile clinic. Self-rated general and mental health were assessed using a questionnaire. RESULTS: The percentage of adults aged 40 to 59 classified as overweight or obese was 28 percentage points lower in the most walkable Can-ALE category than in the least walkable category (49.1% vs. 77.5%, p < 0.0125). There was a significant downward linear trend in measured BMI and waist circumference across Can-ALE categories (from least to most walkable) for adults aged 18 to 59, but not for children and youth or older adults aged 60 to 79. MVPA was a significant mediating factor in the association between the Can-ALE index and BMI in adults aged 40 to 79 (and in the waist circumference of respondents aged 40 to 59). Young adults (aged 18 to 39) were more likely than older adults (aged 60 to 79) to report very good or excellent general health as walkability increased. DISCUSSION: Using a new and freely-available Canadian walkability index, this study observed a positive association between walkability and both measured obesity and self-rated general health in adults. Walkability is one of many built environment characteristics that should be considered when trying to understand the relative contribution of the built environment to a person's weight and overall health.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 23 citations exist upstream.

Cited by

2023Neighborhood Physical and Social Environments and Social Inequalities in Health in Older Adolescents and Young Adults: A Scoping Review 2021Are school-based measures of walkability and greenness associated with modes of commuting to school? Findings from a student survey in Ontario, Canada 2023Mediation analysis of the associations between neighbourhood walkability and greenness, accelerometer-measured physical activity, and health-related fitness in urban dwelling Canadians 2023Canadian children's independent mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic: A national survey 2023Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and body size in Australia’s capital cities: The contribution of obesogenic environments 2023Socioeconomic differences in associations between living in a 20-min neighbourhood and diet, physical activity and self-rated health: Cross-sectional findings from ProjectPLAN 2020The Association of Active Living Environments and Mental Health: A Canadian Epidemiological Analysis 2023Canadian Suburbs Atlas

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.