Walking, obesity and urban design in Chinese neighborhoods.

Objective: We examined the connections (1) between the design of the built environment and walking, (2) between the design of the built environment and obesity, and (3) between walking and obesity and income in urban settings in China.

Methods: Six neighborhoods with different built environment characteristics, located in the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou, were studied. Data on walking and other physical activity and obesity levels from 1070 residents were collected through a street intercept survey conducted in 2013.

Overweight, obesity, and inactivity and urban design in rapidly growing Chinese cities.

China faces rising rates of overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity among its citizens. Risk is highest in China's rapidly growing cities and urban populations. Current urban development practices and policies in China heighten this risk.

The Irvine-Minnesota inventory to measure built environments: reliability tests.

Background: Inter-rater reliability is an important element of environmental audit tools. This paper presents results of reliability tests of the Irvine-Minnesota Inventory, an extensive audit tool aimed at measuring a broad range of built environment features that may be linked to active living.

Methods: Inter-rater reliability was measured by percentage agreement between observers.

The Irvine-Minnesota inventory to measure built environments: development.

Background: Researchers and policymakers increasingly identify active living-including walking and bicycling for travel and recreation-as a potential strategy to increase rates of physical activity in the United States. Understanding the impact of the built environment on physical activity levels requires reliable methods to measure potentially relevant built environment features. This paper presents an audit tool-the Irvine Minnesota Inventory-that was designed to measure a wide range of built environment features that are potentially linked to active living, especially walking.

Evaluation of the California Safe Routes to School legislation: urban form changes and children's active transportation to school.

Background: Walking or bicycling to school could contribute to children's daily physical activity, but physical environment changes are often needed to improve the safety and convenience of walking and cycling routes. The California Safe Routes to School (SR2S) legislation provided competitive funds for construction projects such as sidewalks, traffic lights, pedestrian crossing improvements, and bicycle paths.

Methods: A cross-sectional evaluation examined the relationship between urban form changes and walking and bicycle travel to school.