Introduction
Walking can serve many purposes, such as transportation (to get some place) or leisure
(for fun, relaxation, or exercise); therefore, it provides many opportunities for
people to be physically active. This study examines geographic and urban–rural differences
in walking in the U.S.
Methods
Adult respondents (aged ≥18 years) to the 2015 National Health Interview Survey reported
participation in and time spent (minutes per week) walking for transportation and
leisure in the past week. In 2017, prevalence and time spent walking (among walkers)
for any, leisure, and transportation walking were estimated by nine expanded regions
and urban–rural designation.
Results
Prevalence of any walking ranged from 50.8% (East South Central) to 72.4% (Pacific);
for leisure walking 43.9% (East South Central) to 60.6% (Pacific); and transportation
walking 17.8% (East South Central) to 43.5% (New England). Among walkers, mean minutes
spent walking per week ranged from 77.4 (East South Central) to 101.6 (Pacific); for
leisure walking 70.5 (West South Central) to 85.9 (Mountain); and for transportation
walking 47.4 (East South Central) to 66.4 (Middle Atlantic). Overall, there were urban–rural
differences in prevalence of walking; however, differences depended on walking purpose
and expanded region. Time spent walking was similar in urban and rural areas.
Conclusions
Regional differences in walking prevalence and time spent walking exist. Urban–rural
differences in prevalence of walking differ based on region and purpose; however,
rural areas had a lower prevalence of walking than urban areas regardless of purpose
in southern regions. Opportunities exist to improve walking, particularly among southern
regions with a focus on rural areas.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: October 18, 2018
Identification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
