Neighborhood walkability is associated with increased physical activity of women living in an urban area of Brazil (37.4)

Abstract

Physical inactivity is one of the biggest risk factors for many chronic diseases and mortality, and is one of the most pressing public health problems today. Little is known about the relationship between the built environment and physical activity in mid‐ and low‐income countries. We investigated this relationship among urban Brazilian women living in Santos, Brazil, using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) to measure physical activity (PA) levels collected through home interviews (n = 526). The Pedestrian Environmental Data Scan (PEDS) was used to calculate neighborhood walkability scores. After adjusting for age and educational level, high neighborhood walkability scores for pedestrian walkways ‐ no path obstruction, no garage entrance and stop signs ‐ was associated with PA (OR 3.05; 95% CI 1.44‐6.46). Interestingly, the neighborhoods classified as safer through the walkability score was found to be associated with reduced PA level (OR 0.26; 95% CI 0.11‐0.64). Women living in low‐income areas had less access to PA resources than women in high‐income areas. These findings highlight the importance of an intervention program with multilevel environmental strategies to improve pedestrian walkways and to evaluate their effects on individual behavior.Funded by: Sao Paulo State Foundation for Research Support. Process n 2011/05641‐9.Grant Funding Source: Supported by: Sao Paulo State Foundation for Research Support. Process n 2011/05641‐9.