The Influence of the Objective and Subjective Physical Neighbourhood Environment on the Physical Activity of Older Adults: A Case Study in the Malaysian Neighbourhoods of Johor Bahru

Nadhirah Nordin and Hitoshi Nakamura
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Nadhirah Nordin: Regional Environment Systems, Graduate School of Engineering & Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Saitama 337-8570, Japan
Hitoshi Nakamura: Department of Planning, Architecture & Environmental Systems, College of Systems Engineering & Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Saitama 337-8570, Japan

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-26

Abstract: Physical neighbourhood environments (PNE) can affect the active ageing and physical wellbeing of older residents. This paper examined the PNE objective (PNEO): land use mix entropy, population density, traffic intersection density and distance to facilities; and PNE subjective (PNES): the Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Scale-Abbreviated (NEWS-A): and their relationship with the physical activity (PA) levels of older residents. The PA was measured using an IPAQ questionnaire on 280 older residents in neighbourhoods in the city of Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. Cross-tabulations and correlation analyses were conducted to analyse the significant relationships. It was found that PNEO and PNES in the different housing environments influenced the PA levels of the late middle-aged and young-old adults, that the distance to facilities such as mosques and recreation areas should be less than 200 metres, and that high population density areas in Malaysian neighbourhoods are unsuitable for active ageing lifestyles because of the construction of physical barriers. This research identified the PNEO and PNES indicators for the promotion of an active ageing lifestyle in older residents, which could assist in improving existing housing policies and guidelines on active ageing in Malaysian neighbourhoods.

Keywords: active ageing; physical activity; physical neighbourhood environment; objective neighbourhood environment; subjective neighbourhood environment; GIS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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