Determinants of Walking among Middle-Aged and Older Overweight and Obese Adults: Sociodemographic,Health,and Built Environmental Factors

Background. this study examined the association between selected sociodemographic,health,and built environmental factors and walking behaviors of middle-aged and older overweight/obese adults. methods. subjective data were obtained from surveys administered to community-dwelling overweight/obese adults aged ≥50 years residing in four texas cities from october 2013 to june 2014,along with objective data on neighborhood walkability (walk score™). multivariate logistic regression identified factors predicting the odds of walking the recommended ≥150 minutes per week for any purpose. results. of 253 participants,the majority were non-hispanic white (81.8%),married (74.5%),and male (53.4%) and reported an annual income of ≥$50,000 (65.5%). approximately,half were employed (49.6%) or had at least a college degree (51.6%). walking the recommended ≥150 minutes per week for any purpose (n=57,22.5%) was significantly associated with having at least a college degree (or=5.55,95% ci = 1.79-17.25),having no difficulty walking a quarter of a mile (or=5.18,95% ci = 1.30-20.83),and being unemployed (or=3.25,95% ci = 1.18-8.93) as well as perceived presence of sidewalks/protected walkways (or=3.56,95% ci = 1.10-11.50) and perceived absence of distracted drivers in the neighborhood (or=4.08,95% ci = 1.47-11.36). conclusion. addressing neighborhood conditions related to distracted drivers and pedestrian infrastructure may promote walking among middle-aged and older overweight/obese individuals. © 2017 samuel n. forjuoh et al.