Observing physical activity in suburbs

Health Place. 2008 Dec;14(4):894-9. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2007.12.004. Epub 2008 Jan 6.

Abstract

This study examined the reliability of the block walk method (BWM) for observing physical activity on suburban sidewalks/streets. Trained observers simultaneously walked 40 sidewalk/street segments each 1525 m in length at a pace of 30.5 m/min while recording the number of individuals walking/bicycling/jogging and the address where the activity occurred. An activity was observed at 2.9% of the 1020 addresses walked passed. In all 41 individuals were seen walking, 4 jogging, and 3 bicycling during 400 observation minutes. Agreements were 80%, 90%, and 86.7% for address, activity type, and number of individuals. The BWM is reliable for assessing activity on suburban sidewalks/streets.

MeSH terms

  • Demography
  • Environment Design
  • Exercise*
  • Humans
  • Midwestern United States
  • Motor Activity*
  • Observation*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Social Class
  • Suburban Population*