Built Environment Studies

Our sedentary lifestyle threatens the nation’s health. But why are some people active while others are not? Is inactivity only a matter of choice, or do our neighborhoods affect our behavior?

Health Research for Action is looking for answers through two research projects aimed at reversing the decline in physical activity:

Healthy Aging Network Walking Study: This is a national study of nearly 1,000 older adults in four U.S. cities with different geographic characteristics (rural vs. urban; flat vs. hilly). We are looking at the health, physical capability, and neighborhoods of older adults to understand how neighborhood “walkability” influences patterns of activity. The study is under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Active Living Research program.

Parental Perception of Neighborhood Safety: Are we trading our children’s health for safety? If so, we need to know. Health Research for Action is conducting a pilot study of the relationship between the sedentary behavior of children and their parents’ perception of danger. The study probes even deeper and asks how parental perceptions of safety relate to other measures of the environment and how they might be affected by socioeconomic status and ethnicity. Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research is a partner in this study.