Nonlinear Effects of the Built Environment on Light Physical Activity among Older Adults: The Case of Lanzhou, China

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2022-07, Vol.19 (14), p.8848
• Main Authors: Zang, Peng, Qiu, Hualong, Xian, Fei, Yang, Linchuan, Qiu, Yanan, Guo, Hongxu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Aging; Built Environment; China; Community health care; Community planning; Cross-Sectional Studies; Environment Design; Exercise; Land use; Light; Light effects; Measurement techniques; Nonlinearity; Older people; Physical activity; Physical examinations; Population density; Residence Characteristics; Trends; Urban environments; Variables; Walking
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19148848

The aging of the population is increasing the load on the healthcare system, and enhancing light physical activity among older adults can alleviate this problem. This study used medical examination data from 1773 older adults in Lanzhou city (China) and adopted the random forest model to investigate the effect of the built environment on the duration of light physical activity of older adults. The results showed that streetscape greenery has the most significant impact on older adults' light physical activity; greenery can be assessed in a hierarchy of areas; population density and land-use mix only have a positive effect on older adults' light physical activity up to a certain point but a negative effect beyond that point; and a greater distance to the park within 1 km is associated with a longer time spent on light physical activity. Therefore, we conclude that the built environment's impact is only positive within a specific range. Changes in the intervention of environmental variables can be observed visually by calculating the relative importance of the nonlinearity of built environment elements with partial dependency plots. These results provide a reasonable reference indicator for age-friendly community planning.