Are Neighborhood Environmental Attributes More Important for Older Than for Younger Adults' Walking? Testing Effect Modification by Age.

Rachel Cole; Mohammad Javad Koohsari; Alison Carver; Neville Owen; Takemi Sugiyama
Abstract
Older adults are often considered more vulnerable to environmental factors than are younger adults. We examined whether the associations of objectively measured environmental attributes (Walk Score; street connectivity) with walking for transport differed between younger- (25-44 years), middle- (45-64 years), and older-aged (65-84 years) adults, using a large Australian sample of 14,656 people. Walk Score and street connectivity were similarly associated with walking (any; 30+ min/day) in all age groups. Contrary to commonly held views, the study did not find any evidence suggesting that older adults may be more sensitive to their environment to get out and walk than are younger adults, at least for the environmental attributes examined in this study. Further research is needed to investigate if there are particular environmental factors that hinder older adults from being active.
Journal JOURNAL OF AGING AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
ISSN 1543-267X
Published 19 Nov 2018
Volume
Issue
Pages 1-6
DOI 10.1123/japa.2018-0009
Type Journal Article
Sponsorship NHMRC: 1118225