Relationship between regular walking, physical activity, and health-related quality of life.

Background: The current physical activity (PA) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) literature warrants further investigation with general population samples. The exploratory-focused purpose of this study was to compare total PA-HRQoL and walking-HRQoL relations, include a measure of general happiness, and to evaluate potential activity-HRQoL demographic moderators.

Methods: A random sample of 351 adults completed an adapted Godin Leisure Time Questionnaire, the SF-36, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale.

Integrating the perceived neighborhood environment and the theory of planned behavior when predicting walking in a Canadian adult sample.

Purpose: To integrate the characteristics of the perceived environment with the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to determine (1) whether the TPB mediates relations among environmental characteristics and walking, and (2) whether the environment moderates TPB-walking relations.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: South Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Relationships among dog ownership and leisure-time walking in Western Canadian adults.

Background: Dog ownership may be an effective tailored intervention among adults for promoting physical activity. This study examined the relationship between walking, physical activity levels, and potential psychological mediators between people who owned dogs and those who did not own dogs in the Capital Region District of Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Data were collected in September 2004; analyses were conducted in January 2005.