Neighbourhood greenspace is associated with a slower decline in physical activity in older adults: A prospective cohort study

Abstract

Maintaining physical activity in later life is important for maintaining health and function. Activity outdoors, such as walking, jogging and cycling, may provide an accessible, sociable and practical solution, but maintaining outdoor mobility may be a challenge in later life. Providing green environments which are supportive of physical activity may facilitate this, yet research into how greenspace could be best used is inconclusive. This study evaluates the role of greenspace in protecting against decline in physical activity over time in older adults.Data from the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer Norfolk, UK, cohort 1993–2009 (N=15,672) was used. Linear regression modelling was used to examine the association between exposure to greenspace in the home neighbourhood and change in overall, recreational and outdoor physical activity measured in terms of metabolic equivalent cost (MET) in hours/week. Mediation analysis was conducted to assess if dog walking explained the relationship between greenspace and physical activity change. Models were adjusted for known and hypothesised confounders.People living in greener neighbourhoods experienced less of a decline in physical activity than those living in less green areas. Comparing change for those living in the greenest versus least green quartiles, participants showed a difference in overall physical activity of 4.21 MET hours/week (trend P=0.001), adjusted for baseline physical activity, age, sex, BMI, social class and marital status. This difference was 4.03 MET hours/week for recreational physical activity (trend P<0.001) and 1.28 MET hours/week for outdoor physical activity (trend P=0.007). Dog walking partially mediated the association between greenspace and physical activity change, by 22.6% for overall, 28.1% for recreational and 50.0% for outdoor physical activity (all P<0.001).Greenspace in the home neighbourhood may be protective against decline in physical activity among older people as they age. Dog walking is a potential mechanism in this relationship, and warrants further investigation as a way of maintaining physical activity in later life.

A Cross-Sectional Investigation of the Importance of Park Features for Promoting Regular Physical Activity in Parks

“…It may be that environmental features encourage older adults to visit a park and then whilst at the park they may be more likely to engage in physical activity (e.g., walking); whereas benches may be necessary for rest during walks or other activities. For older adults, parks are key settings for relaxation and mindfulness activities [ 24 ] and may play a role in slowing age-related declines in physical activity levels [ 25 ]. Our findings are consistent with a number of studies examining environmental influences on walking, which have reported significant positive associations between aesthetically pleasant environments and walking for exercise/recreation [ 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”

What built environmental factors mitigate decline in older adults’ step count? Three-year longitudinal study with a large sample in Yokohama, Japan

“…On the other hand, when negative, the land cover is likely to be street surfaces and buildings. The NDVI was selected as a BE variable because green land use was associated with older adults' PA in both cross-sectional [30] and longitudinal studies [24]. Fifth, the average distance to the nearest railway station (km) was used as an index of distance to transit and destination.…”

“…A few studies examined the relationship between the longitudinal change of walking and/or PA of older adults and the BE factors, i.e., access to PA facilities [20], proximity to parks and trails [21], closeness to functional spaces (e.g., supermarkets and PA facilities) [22], proximity to services and amenities [23], living in greener neighborhoods [24], and combined walkability score [25]. However, these studies considered only some of the 5D attributes and used self-reported data of PA.…”

Green infrastructure as a disease prevention and rehabilitation tool

“…An important aspect of the mentioned need, is that it cannot be a random burst of activity, repeated for example once a month. It must be a force of habit, an everyday ritual, that does not keep an individual active sometimes, but all the time (Booth, Gordon, Carlson & Hamilton, 2000;Dalton et al, 2016;Gupta & Wood, 2019). This can include cycling few times a week, walking to workplace and back instead of driving, taking everyday strolls around the park, grocery shopping on foot etc.…”

“…In a review of contemporary urban planning and landscape architecture articles, we fi nd, that accessibility (Paquet et al, 2013;Wang, Chau, Ng & Leung, 2016), presence of greenery and aesthetics are key requirements, that public spaces need to meet, in order to contribute to increased outdoor activity in cities (de Vries et al, 2003;Owen, Humpel, Leslie, Bauman & Sallis, 2004;Eronen et al, 2014;Dalton et al, 2016;Jansen, Ettema, Kamphuis, Pierik & Dijst, 2017;Keskinen, Rantakokko, Suomi, Rantanen & Portegijs, 2018). This warrants the creation of not only more green public spaces but more public spaces designed specifi cally to increase physical activity (White et al, 2016).…”