Environmental perceptions and walking in English adults

Study objective: To examine the relation between adults' perceptions of the social and physical environment and their self reported walking behaviour. Design: Cross sectional survey. Setting: England. Participants: A national sample of 4265 adults aged 16 - 74 years. Main outcome measures: Self reported walking behaviour was categorised into two dichotomous variables: ( a) any reported walking in past four weeks, (b) reported walking greater than or equal to 150 minutes per week in the past four weeks. Perceptions of the social environment covered safety of walking alone and social support for walking. Perceptions of the physical environment covered attractiveness of local area for walking, access to shops, leisure centres, parks, cycle paths, and traffic density. Main results: In women, perceived safety of walking during the day ( OR = 0.53; 95% CI: 0.31 to 0.88), and no shop within walking distance ( OR = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.52 to 0.99) were associated with any reported walking occasions. Perceptions of the environment were not related to women walking greater than or equal to 150 min/week. In men, having a park within walking distance was associated with walking greater than or equal to 150 min/week ( OR = 2.22; 95% CI: 1.18 to 4.35). No other significant associations were found. Conclusions: Women seem to be more concerned about walking for utility and in safety. Men are more likely to walk greater than or equal to 150 min/week if they have access to a local park but their walking is not influenced by concerns about safety. Future research should focus on the relation between objective measures rather than perceptions of the environment and physical activity.