The Relationships between Neighborhood Environments and Physical Activity among Adults in Taiwan

• Main Authors: Chi-Chen Chiang, 江季蓁
• Other Authors: Yiing Mei Liou
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2019
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/rb48n3

博士 === 國立陽明大學 === 護理學系 === 107 === Background: Many environmental factors have been associated with physical activity. A person’s environment is considered an important factor in terms of the rate of engagement in physical activity. Physical inactivity is a key determinant of obesity and the development of chronic diseases. Likiwise, lack of physical activity and a negative lifestyle seriously threaten health and increase the risk of death. Purpose: This study examined the relationships between neighborhood environmental factors and physical activity among Taiwanese adults. According to the results of this research, we proposed the special suggestions of environmental construction in order to improve the amounts of physical activity. Methods: Data were collected from 549 adults aged at least 18 years from the northern, central, southern and eastern regions of Taiwan. The structured questionnaires including the International Physical Activity Questionnaire showcard version and the perceived neighborhood environment concerning physical activity was adapted from the Physical Activity Neighborhood Environment Scale. We geocoded the addresses of participants in this study, and collected the environmental factors through geographic information systems. A hierarchical logistic regression was conducted to ascertain associations between the perceptions of the neighborhood environment, objective neighborhood environment and physical activity. Data analyses were performed with the SPSS statistical software package (PASW Statistics for Windows version 21.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results: Respondents who aged 18–34 years old were less likely to engage in physical activity recommdendation. People with a university education or more had more opportunities to participant in physical activity compared to those with a low education level (OR: 2.00-3.16). Compared to men, women had fewer opportunities to participant in 420 minutes of physical activity per week (OR: 0.57, 0.61). The effects of the perceived neighborhood environments, objective neighborhood environments, demographic data on physical activity among adults were as follows: (1) 150 minutes of physical activity per week: Respondents who aged 35–49, 50–64, ≥ 65 years old were more likely to spend 150 minutes per week engaged in physical activity compared with those aged 18–34 within 800-meter buffer (OR: 1.83, 2.75, 2.15), 1,000-meter buffer (OR: 1.87, 3.02, 2.29), and 3,000-meter buffer range (OR: 1.90, 2.93, 2.24). Respondents who perceived their neighborhood environments as being aesthetically pleasing were more likely to engage in 150 minutes of physical activity per week. In objective neighborhood environments, the slope positively correlated with each buffer ranges. The intersections were positively associated with physical activity within an 800-meter buffer. People living on dead-end streets were less likely to engage in 150 minutes of physical activity per week. (2) 300 minutes of physical activity per week: Respondents aged 50–64 years old were more likely to engage in 150 minutes of physical activity per week compared with those aged 18–34 within each buffer range (OR: 2.15, 3.20, 2.31, 2.46, 2.59), except for the 500-meter buffer. Respondents who perceived their neighborhood environment as having higher traffic safety and reported seeing many physically active people in the neighborhood were more likely to engage in 300 minutes of physical activity per week. In objective neighborhood environments, the parks, historic sites, supermarkets, and slope showed positive influences of 300 minutes of physical activity per week. Peoole who lived on dead-end streets demonstrated a negative influence of physical activity. (3) 420 minutes of physical activity per week: Respondents who aged in 50–64 years old were likely to be engaged in 420 minutes of physical activity per week (OR: 2.28-2.61)，compared with those aged 18–34. Women generally have fewer opportunities to engage in 420 minutes of physical activity per week than men within the 1600-meter and 2000-meter buffer ranges. Respondents who perceived their neighborhood environment as having higher traffic safety were more likely to engage in 420 minutes of physical activity per week. In objective neighborhood environments, the historic sites, supermarkets, and slope showed positive influences of 420 minutes of physical activity per week. People who lived on dead-end streets were less likely to engage in highly active physical activity. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of an activity-friendly neighborhood environment to stimulate engagement in physical activity among adults in Taiwan. Generally, aesthetically pleasing neighborhood environments with higher street connection were positive influences of walking, and people were more likely to engage in 150 minutes of physical activity per week. The perceived environmental factors of a neighborhood were things such as traffic safety and many services and stores to access, like parks, supermarkets, and historic sites. These environmental factors make people engaging in 300 minutes of physical activity per week. Age and gender both had important effects of engageing in highly active physical activity. For the highly active group, traffic safety remained a key determinant in their environment. Respondents who engaged in 420 minutes of physical activity per week were less affected by the neighborhood environments.