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Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults
Published on: November 7, 2014
Built environment attributes and walking patterns among the elderly population in Bogotá
Luis F Gómez1, Diana C Parra, David Buchner
1Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. lfgomez@fundacionfes.org
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
|May 25, 2010
Summary
The built environment impacts older adults' physical activity. More parks and perceived safety encourage walking, while high street connectivity may reduce it in developing cities.
Area of Science:
- Urban planning and public health
- Gerontology and environmental studies
Background:
- Growing evidence links the built environment to physical activity levels.
- Limited research exists on this relationship in developing countries.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate associations between built environment attributes and walking behaviors in the elderly.
- To explore how neighborhood characteristics influence physical activity in older adults.
Main Methods:
- Multilevel cross-sectional study in 2007 involving 1966 participants aged 60+ across 50 neighborhoods.
- Objective built environment measures (GIS-based 500m buffer) and subjective environmental perceptions (questionnaire).
Main Results:
- Living in areas with 4.53%-7.98% park area correlated with walking ≥60 minutes/week (POR=1.42).
- Higher street connectivity (1.81-1.99) was associated with less walking (POR=0.64).
- Perceived safety from traffic strongly predicted walking ≥60 minutes/week (POR=1.50).
Conclusions:
- Built and perceived environmental factors are associated with walking in older adults in Bogotá.
- Further research is needed to understand built environment influences on elderly physical activity in Latin American cities.
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