Gender differences in walking (for leisure, transport and in total) across adult life: a systematic review

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this systematic review was to examine gender differences in walking for leisure, transport and in total in adults living in high-income countries, and to assess whether gender differences in walking practices change across the life-course.MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted of publications dated 1995 to 2015. Papers providing quantitative data on participation in walking of both men and women aged at least 18 years in a high-income country were screened for the quality of the data on gender differences in walking. Data were extracted and results were synthesised using forest plots and narrative summary.ResultsThirty-six studies were included in the review: 18 reported on walking for leisure, 16 on walking for transport (in total, or for particular purposes), and 14 on total walking. Most (33) studies provided data comparing the proportion of men and women who walked (at all or for a minimum duration) over a defined period, usually one week. There was consistent evidence that more women than men walk for leisure, although effect sizes were small. However, this effect varies by age: more younger women than younger men walk for leisure, but the gender difference diminishes with age and appears to reverse in the oldest age groups. Taking all ages together, there was no consistent gender difference in walking for transport or in total walking, although the small number of studies reporting on walking to undertake errands suggested that more women than men walk for this purpose.ConclusionsWhile there is little evidence that levels of total walking consistently vary by gender, our findings suggest that there are consistent gender differences in participation in walking for some purposes, including for leisure, and that there are gender differences in the impact of age on walking. We conclude that more research is needed to improve our understanding of how walking fits into the lives of women and men across the life-course, especially in relation to gender differences in the impact of aging on walking.Prospero registrationPROSPERO registration number: CRD42015025961.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4253-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Pedestrians Mobility on Public Sidewalks Evaluated by the IAAPE Method

“…In order to improve this contemporary scenario of accessibility in public sidewalks, there is a need for diagnosis and evaluation of the numerous issues that hamper displacements of pedestrians [12]. For this analysis, the IAAPE method [27] was chosen, which accessibility and attractiveness, using as an analytical basis, the aforementioned 7 "Cs".…”

“…[12,21], cities should be designed for users with reduced mobility accessibility, in order to guarantee insertion patterns of these people in relation to the built environment. This would be of paramount importance, as it would allow universal access through public sidewalks in areas of commerce, service and leisure.…”

“…The importance of research on users' access to walkability is demonstrated by the need to represent public sidewalks and to investigate how they influence and directly relate to pedestrian mobility in cities [12,26]. This assessment encourages the need to rethink the city use, taking into account its development in order to recreate and integrate improvements.…”

“…In this context, the urban environment must be conceived as a democratic space, and regarding mobility, allowing free, universal an secure access for all users [12,21].…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12], are expressed in different ways, encouraging reflection on an urban mobility that generates access easiness for the population. In order to provide better access conditions to users, it is necessary to seek greater ease in pedestrian movement, according to Refs.…”