Dataset Information

Walking distance by trip purpose and population subgroups.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Walking distance is an important concept in the fields of transportation and public health. A distance of 0.25 miles is often used as an acceptable walking distance in U.S. research studies. Overall, research on the distance and duration of walking trips for different purposes and across different population groups remains limited.

Purpose

This study examines the prevalence of walking and distances and durations of walking trips for different purposes among U.S. residents.

Methods

The distances and durations of walking trips for different purposes across population groups were compared using nationally representative data from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS). Distance decay functions were used to summarize the distribution of walking distances and durations for different purposes and population subgroups. Data were analyzed in 2011.

Results

Sixteen percent of respondents had at least one daily walking trip. The mean and median values for walking distance were 0.7 and 0.5 miles, respectively. For walking duration, the mean and median values were 14.9 and 10 minutes. About 65% of walking trips were more than 0.25 miles in distance, and about 18% of walking trips were more than 1 mile. Large variations were found among various purposes for both distance and duration. The distances and durations of walking for recreation were substantially longer than those for other purposes. People with lower versus higher household income walked longer distances for work but shorter distances for recreation.

Conclusions

Only a small fraction of respondents walk, but trips longer than 0.25 miles are common. There is substantial variability in the distance and duration of walking trips by purpose and population subgroups. These differences have implications for developing strategies to increase physical activity through walking.

SUBMITTER: Yang Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3377942 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Walking distance by trip purpose and population subgroups.

Yang Yong Y Diez-Roux Ana V AV

American journal of preventive medicine 20120701 1

<h4>Background</h4>Walking distance is an important concept in the fields of transportation and public health. A distance of 0.25 miles is often used as an acceptable walking distance in U.S. research studies. Overall, research on the distance and duration of walking trips for different purposes and across different population groups remains limited.<h4>Purpose</h4>This study examines the prevalence of walking and distances and durations of walking trips for different purposes among U.S. residen ...[more]

PMID: 22704740

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:The six-minute walking test (6MWT) is a tool that plays a key role in evaluating the functional exercise capacity, prognosis and evaluation of treatment response of patients with various cardiopulmonary diseases. However, standard reference equations are currently unavailable for the six-minute walking distance (6MWD) for people aged 60-85?years in China. The purpose of this study was to 1) measure the 6MWD of healthy Chinese people aged 60-85?years, 2) establish reference equations for predicting the 6MWD, and 3) compare our reference equations with equations reported in previously published studies. METHOD:We obtained informed consent from each participant prior to the test, and the research design was approved by the Ethics Committee of Wenzhou People's Hospital. The demographic and anthropometric data and the 6MWD of healthy Chinese subjects aged 60-85?years old were measured using a standardized protocol. Every subject completed two 6MWTs, and the longest 6MWD further analyzed. RESULTS:Two hundred sixty-six subjects (128 males and 138 females) completed the 6MWT, and the mean walking distance was 518?±?72?m. Males achieved a longer walking distance than females (518?±?72?m vs. 487?±?70?m; p <?0.0001), and active subjects achieved a longer walking distance than nonactive subjects (512?±?76?m vs. 485?±?63?m; p <?0.0001). According to the univariate analysis, the 6MWD was significantly associated with age, height, body mass index (BMI), heart rate and blood pressure after exercise and changes in heart rate before and after exercise. The stepwise multivariate regression analysis identified age, height and BMI as independent predictors of the 6MWD. The reference equations for Caucasians and South Americans tended to overestimate the 6MWD of our subjects, while the equations for Asian and African populations tended to underestimate the 6MWD. CONCLUSIONS:This study is the first to describe the 6MWD of healthy Chinese people aged 60-85?years, and reference prediction equations were proposed. These findings will help to improve the evaluation of Chinese patients with diseases that affect exercise capacity.

Dataset Information

Walking distance by trip purpose and population subgroups.

Background

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Walking distance by trip purpose and population subgroups.

Similar Datasets

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