Abstract
This study investigates perceived barriers to walking using data collected from 179 randomly-selected adults between the ages of 18 and 92 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. A survey (Hamilton Active Living Study) asked questions about socio-demographics, walking, and barriers to walking. A series of binary logit models are estimated for twenty potential barriers to walking. The results demonstrate that different barriers are associated with different sub-groups of the population. Females, senior citizens, and those with a higher body mass index identify the most barriers to walking, while young adults, parents, driver’s license owners, and bus pass owners identify the fewest barriers. Understanding who is affected by perceived barriers can help policy makers and health promotion agencies target sub-groups of the population in an effort to increase walking.
Highlights
Over the past decade, researchers have sought to understand factors that influence the decision to walk
Comparing the percentages of people who agree and disagree with the barriers finds the majority of people disagree that the barriers prevent them from walking more often, with the exception of work is too far away and I don’t make time
There are thirty perceived barriers to walking discussed in the preliminary analysis, only a sub-set is selected to be modeled due to issues with sample size and variability in the answers provided by the subjects
Summary
Researchers have sought to understand factors that influence the decision to walk. Walking as a mode of travel is only used by 36% of Canadians to get to a routine destination on a regular basis [7] This low modal share combined with the many benefits that walking has on both the environment and human health, has made walking a focus for researchers and policy makers [8,9]. Understanding how factors, such as the built environment, social environment, and safety, are related to walking provides researchers and policy makers the opportunity to recommend policy changes that work to minimize or enhance the effect factors have on the decision to walk
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