Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Perceived Environment Attributes, Residential Location And Walking For Particular Purposes, Nancy Humpel, Donald Iverson, Neville Owen, Eva Leslie, Adrian Bauman

Don C. Iverson

BACKGROUND: Identifying environmental factors that can influence physical activity is a public health priority. We examined associations of perceived environmental attributes with walking for four different purposes: general neighborhood walking, walking for exercise, walking for pleasure, and walking to get to and from places. METHODS: Participants (n =399; 57% women) were surveyed by mail. They reported place of residence, walking behaviors, and perceptions of neighborhood environmental attributes. RESULTS: Men with the most positive perceptions of neighborhood "aesthetics" were significantly more likely (odds ratio [OR]=7.4) to be in the highest category of neighborhood walking. Men who perceived the weather as not …