Analysis of the Impacts of Neighborhood Environment on Physical Activity and Health Status in Seoul, Korea - Application of Multilevel Analysis with the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2012)

Abstract

This study examines the relationships between the neighborhood environment, physical activity, and health status of the 176 neighborhood units of ‘Dong’ in Seoul using the ‘National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey’ (2007-2012). The multilevel analysis results indicate that demographic and socioeconomic variables such as a respondent’s age, health condition, education, marital status, and income are very significant variables to explain physical activity and health status. Some neighborhood environment variables such as floor area of commercial use or office use, neighborhood park, and neighborhood school facilities also show significant relationships with low-intensity physical activity time of walking. However, most neighborhood environment variables do not show a significant association with moderate- or high-intensity physical activity time except a few variables. The relationship between built environment and health status indicates that while neighborhood environment variables have no association with quality of life (EQ-VAS), the floor area of multi-family housing, neighborhood park and children’s park shows some associations with overall health status (EQ-5D). In contrast, the floor area of multi-family housing, land use mix, and the length of bike roads are significant variables to explain BMI. Thus, this study shows mixed results on the relationship between the neighborhood environment and physical activity and health status.