摘要：Objectives. This study sought to examine individual, social environmental, and physical environmental correlates of walking. Methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among healthy workers and homemakers residing in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. Results. Most respondents walked for transport or recreation, but only 17.2% did a sufficient amount of walking to accrue health benefits. After adjustment, the relative influences of individual, social environmental, and physical environmental factors were found to be almost equally important. Conclusions. Although walking is popular, few people do enough walking to benefit their health. Those who walk as well as engage in other physical activities appear more likely to achieve recommended levels of activity. Promoting walking may require a comprehensive strategy. Walking was placed firmly on the public health agenda in 1996 after publication of the US surgeon general’s report on physical activity. 1, 2 After reviewing decades of epidemiological evidence, the surgeon general concluded that physical inactivity was as important a disease risk factor as smoking and unhealthy diets. Moreover, evidence showed that individuals could derive health benefits by engaging in as little as 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day, including brisk walking. Studies consistently show that walking is a popular activity among both men and women, but particularly among women and individuals older than 50 years. 3, 4 However, fewer published studies have examined the factors that influence walking than have assessed factors associated with engaging in vigorous exercise. Recently, there has been considerable interest in the environmental influences of physical activity. 5– 7 In the present study, we examined the relative influences of individual, social environmental, and objectively measured physical environmental factors on a single form of physical activity: walking (see Giles-Corti and Donovan 8 for details regarding the social–ecological model adopted).
