Authors
GC Wendel-Vos, A Jantine Schuit, Raymond de Niet, Hendriek C Boshuizen, WH Saris, DAAN Kromhout
Publication date
2004/1/1
Journal
Medicine and science in sports and exercise
Volume
36
Issue
4
Pages
725-730
Publisher
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Description
PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to identify factors of the physical environment that may influence time spent on walking and bicycling.
METHODS
Demographic factors and time spent on walking and bicycling (during leisure time and for commuting purposes) were assessed with a self-administered questionnaire. GIS databases were used to objectively measure the total square area of green space and recreational space (woods, parks, sport grounds, allotments for vegetable gardens, and grounds for day trips) in a circle around the postal code of a respondent with a radius of 300 and 500 m. Multilevel regression analysis was used to study the association between walking and bicycling on the one hand, and green and recreational space on the other hand. Analyses were adjusted for gender, age, and educational level.
RESULTS
In a neighborhood defined as a circle with a 300-m radius, the square area of sport grounds was associated with bicycling in general and the square area of parks was associated with bicycling for commuting purposes. It is, however, very likely that these results reflect the association of living in the outskirts of town and time spent on bicycling.
CONCLUSION
The present study showed green and recreational space, specifically sport grounds and parks, to be associated with time spent on bicycling.
Total citations
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Scholar articles
GC Wendel-Vos, AJ Schuit, R de Niet, HC Boshuizen… - Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 2004