Neighborhood walkability and sedentary behaviors among US adults

Background: It remains unclear whether individuals living in more walkable neighborhoods spend less time engaging in domain-specific sedentary behaviors, which vary by certain groups. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the associations between neighborhood walkability and total and domain-specific sedentary behavior, and to explore how this relationship varied by sociodemographic factors. Methods: Participants from AmeriSpeak who completed up to two activities completed over time in 24-hours in 2019 were included. Sedentary behavior outcomes (hours/day) included: (1) total sedentary behavior and (2) domain-specific sedentary behaviors (leisure, work, household, transport, personal, and other sedentary activities). Neighborhood walkability index was classified into four groups (least walkable [referent], below average, above average, and most walkable). Weighted generalized linear regression models were used to examine the associations, adjusting for covariates. Subsequently, such associations were stratified by sociodemographic factors. Results: Compared with the least walkable neighborhoods, below average, above average, and most walkable neighborhoods were positively associated with longer total sedentary behavior time (β = 0.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.06, 1.01; β = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.29, 1.27; and β = 1.40, 95% CI = 0.75, 2.05, respectively). For domain-specific sedentary behavior, neighborhoods with below average, above average, and most walkable neighborhoods were positively related to work sedentary behavior. However, neighborhood walkability was not related to other domain-specific sedentary behaviors. Lastly, adults aged 20-39 living in more walkable neighborhoods spent longer total sedentary behavior and work-related sedentary behavior. Conclusion: Residents living in highly walkable neighborhoods engaged in more total sedentary behavior and work-related sedentary time. Future research should explore how neighborhood environments collectively influence sedentary behavior.