Associations between Neighborhood Disadvantage and Dog Walking among Participants in the Dog Aging Project

Although neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage is negatively related to overall physical activity, prior studies reveal a complex relationship between disadvantage and particular walking behaviors. While disadvantage is associated with reduced recreational walking through a hypothesized fear-of-crime mechanism, the built environment in disadvantaged neighborhoods may encourage utilitarian walking. To date, no study has assessed how disadvantage relates to dog walking, a distinct walking behavior that is neither strictly recreational nor utilitarian but represents a key mechanism through which pet ownership may affect human health. We employ a large (n = 19,732) dataset from the Dog Aging Project to understand how neighborhood disadvantage is associated with dog walking when controlling for individual-, household-, and environmental-level factors. We find that dog owners in more disadvantaged neighborhoods report less on-leash walking activity compared to owners in advantaged neighborhoods and discuss the possibility of a fear-of-crime mechanism underlying this association. These findings improve our understanding of the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and physical function and highlight the need for public health interventions that encourage dog ownership to consider neighborhood disadvantage.

Automated summary

While neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage is negatively associated with overall physical activity, the relationship between disadvantage and specific walking behaviors is complex. Disadvantaged neighborhoods may encourage utilitarian walking despite reduced recreational walking due to fear of crime. This study examines the association between disadvantage and dog walking, a distinct walking behavior that is influenced by pet ownership and its impact on human health. The findings reveal that dog owners in more disadvantaged neighborhoods engage in less on-leash walking activity, possibly due to a fear-of-crime mechanism. These findings contribute to our understanding of the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and physical function and emphasize the importance of considering neighborhood disadvantage in public health interventions that promote dog ownership.