Abstract
Based on literature review and five focus groups, a model was analyzed describing individual, social environmental and physical environmental (perceived) determinants of walking by older people. Aim was to test whether these determinants were significantly associated with the duration of walking by older people (N = 567, 50 - 80 years) in a middle-sized Dutch town. Walking time was best predicted by attitude towards walking (partial correlation in model (partial r) 0.18; p r 0.12, p r 0.21 p r - 0.14, p r 0.28 p < 0.01). The model explained 20% of the total variance in walking time. Conclusion is that individual and social determinants predicted the most variance in walking time and that perceived environmental determinants played only a minor role. Health promotion actions may benefit from these insights.
Highlights
The composition of the Dutch population will change drastically over the coming decades
Using a stepwise multivariate regression analysis, we examined the percentage of the variance in total walking time in the neighborhood that could be explained by the determinants
Of all individual determinants included in the model, the quality of life (Pearson correlation r = 0.22), perceived health (r = 0.13), the attitude towards walking (r = 0.19) and the social norm (0.11) were positively univariate associated with the total walking time
Summary
The composition of the Dutch population will change drastically over the coming decades This is partly due to increased life expectancy and the aging “baby boomer generation”, known as “double aging”. The Dutch Standard for Healthy Physical Activity (NNGB) suggests that at least five days a week at least 30 minutes daily of moderate intensity physical activity should be performed to maintain and improve health [10]. This recommendation is not achieved by many older people in the Netherlands: 42.5% of the 65- to 74-year-olds and 56.5% of the over-75 s in 2008/2009 did not meet the NNGB [11]. Based on literature [13,14] and focus group interviews with older people [15] we analyzed a model (see Figure 1) to explain the neighborhood walking behavior of independently living older people (50 - 80 years)
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