Washington, Feb 22 (Inditop.com) Elders who live near physical activity resources like parks, trails and recreational facilities benefit healthwise, says a new study.
Researchers conducted a study among community-dwelling men, aged 65 years or older, from the Portland metropolitan area.
They sought to find out whether older men who live within one-eighth, one-quarter, or one-half mile of physical activity resources, including parks, trails and recreational facilities, are more likely than men who live farther from these resources to maintain or increase the time they spend walking.
Participants were enrolled from March 2000 through April 2002 at six US clinical centres and were followed an average of 3.6 years to assess changes in time spent walking.
The results of the study revealed a positive association among urban-dwelling older men between living within one-eighth mile of parks and one-half mile of trails and maintaining or increasing time spent walking, although the association was limited to men living in high-socioeconomic status neighbourhoods.
The study authors said: “Proximity to physical activity resources such as parks and trails may be important for maintaining moderate physical activity over time among older men residing in high-socioeconomic status neighbourhoods,” according to a release of the American Journal of Public Health, which published these findings.
