Objective versus subjective measures of the built environment, which are most effective in capturing associations with walking?

This study compared the strength of association of objective and subjective measures of environment with walking sufficiently for health. It used an existing model, which employed only objective environmental measures and adjusted for socio-demographic covariates, to estimate the influence of the built environment on walking. The original model was re-run with new, subjectively measured variables. The results showed that objective measures of the built environment had stronger associations with walking than subjective measures. Future studies of the environmental influences on physical activity should include objective measures of the built environment. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.