Factorial Invariance of the Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale among Senior Women in the Nurses' Health Study Cohort.

The purpose of this study was to examine the factorial invariance of the Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS-A) across subgroups based on demographic, health-related, behavioral, and environmental characteristics among Nurses' Health Study participants ( = 2,919; age = 73.0, = 6.9 years) living in California, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

Direct and Indirect Associations Between the Built Environment and Leisure and Utilitarian Walking in Older Women.

Background: The built environment predicts walking in older adults, but the degree to which associations between the objective built environment and walking for different purposes are mediated by environmental perceptions is unknown.

Purpose: We examined associations between the neighborhood built environment and leisure and utilitarian walking and mediation by the perceived environment among older women.

Methods: Women (N = 2732, M  = 72.

Spatial clustering of physical activity and obesity in relation to built environment factors among older women in three U.S. states.

Background: Identifying spatial clusters of chronic diseases has been conducted over the past several decades. More recently these approaches have been applied to physical activity and obesity. However, few studies have investigated built environment characteristics in relation to these spatial clusters.

Factorial validity of an abbreviated neighborhood environment walkability scale for seniors in the Nurses' Health Study.

Background: Using validated measures of individuals' perceptions of their neighborhood built environment is important for accurately estimating effects on physical activity. However, no studies to date have examined the factorial validity of a measure of perceived neighborhood environment among older adults in the United States. The purpose of this measurement study was to test the factorial validity of a version of the Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS-A) modified for seniors in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS).

Relationships between the built environment and walking and weight status among older women in three U.S. States.

There are few studies of built environment associations with physical activity and weight status among older women in large geographic areas that use individual residential buffers to define environmental exposures. Among 23,434 women (70.0 ± 6.

Trails and physical activity: a review.

Purpose: To provide a synthesis of research on trails and physical activity from the public health, leisure sciences, urban planning, and transportation literatures.

Methods: A search of databases was conducted to identify studies published between 1980 and 2008.

Results: 52 studies were identified.