Environmental determinants of active transportation by walking and bicycling in older adults: cross-sectional and prospective studies

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26750348
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Applied health science
• Research Institution: Yamaguchi Prefectural University (2016); Physical Fitness Research Institute, Meiji Yasuda Life Foundation of Health and Welfare (2014-2015)
• Principal Investigator: Tsunoda Kenji 山口県立大学, 社会福祉学部, 講師 (90718909)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 身体活動 / 運動 / 地理 / 環境 / 移動 / 徒歩 / 交通 / 介護予防

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We investigated walking and bicycling distances older adults are willing to travel. Although there were some age and gender differences, older adults could select active transportation if their destinations are within 1 km for walking and 2 km for bicycling.
In a prospective study for metropolitan older adults, active transportation by walking was positively associated with numbers of neighborhood cultural facilities and train rails in neighborhood stations. However, this positive association was not observed in a cross-sectional study for rural older adults. For bicycle, both metropolitan and rural older adults were more likely to use bicycle when they lived in area with higher population density and lower land slope. Additionally, rural older adults who lived in inaccessible area to a train station more frequently used bicycle.
In this project, we conducted both cross-sectional and prospective studies. Our findings contribute for promoting physical activity in older adults.

Free Research Field

応用健康科学