Walk Score ® and Its Associations with Older Adults’ Health Behaviors and Outcomes

Yung Liao, Chien-Yu Lin, Ting-Fu Lai, Yen-Ju Chen, Bohyeon Kim and Jong-Hwan Park
Additional contact information
Yung Liao: Department of Health Promotion and Health Education, National Taiwan Normal University, 162, Heping East Road Section 1, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Chien-Yu Lin: Institute of Health Behaviors and Community Sciences, National Taiwan University, 17, Xuzhou Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan
Ting-Fu Lai: Department of Health Promotion and Health Education, National Taiwan Normal University, 162, Heping East Road Section 1, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Yen-Ju Chen: Graduate Institute of Sport, Leisure and Hospitality Management, National Taiwan Normal University, 162, Heping East Road Section 1, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Bohyeon Kim: Health Behaviors & Disease Prevention Research Group, Institute of Convergence Bio-Health, Dong-A University, Busan 49201, Korea
Jong-Hwan Park: Health Behaviors & Disease Prevention Research Group, Institute of Convergence Bio-Health, Dong-A University, Busan 49201, Korea

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the associations between Walk Score ® and lifestyle behaviors and health outcomes in older Taiwanese adults. A nationwide survey was conducted through telephone-based interviews with older adults (65 years and older) in Taiwan. Data on Walk Score ® , lifestyle behaviors (physical activity, sedentary behavior, healthy eating behavior, alcohol use, and smoking status), health outcomes (overweight/obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease), and personal characteristics were obtained from 1052 respondents. A binary logistic regression adjusting for potential confounders was employed. None of the Walk Score ® categories were related to the recommended levels of total physical activity. The categories “very walkable” and “walker’s paradise” were positively related to total sedentary time and TV viewing among older adults. No significant associations were found between Walk Score ® and other lifestyle health behaviors or health outcomes. While Walk Score ® was not associated with recommended levels of physical activity, it was positively related to prolonged sedentary time in the context of a non-Western country. The different associations between the walk score and health lifestyle behaviors and health outcomes in different contexts should be noted.

Keywords: walkability; neighborhood; older adult; chronic diseases (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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