Cross-Sectional Study of Location-Based Built Environments, Physical Activity, Dietary Intake, and Body Mass Index in Adult Twins

We examined relationships between walkability and health behaviors between and within identical twin pairs, considering both home (neighborhood) walkability and each twin's measured activity space. Continuous activity and location data (via accelerometry and GPS) were obtained in 79 pairs over 2 weeks. Walkability was estimated using Walk Score ® (WS); home WS refers to neighborhood walkability, and GPS WS refers to the mean of individual WSs matched to every GPS point collected by each participant. GPS WS was assessed within (WHN) and out of the neighborhood (OHN), using 1-mile Euclidean (air1mi) and network (net1mi) buffers. Outcomes included walking and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) bouts, dietary energy density (DED), and BMI. Home WS was associated with WHN GPS WS ( b = 0.71, SE = 0.03, p b = 0.79, SE = 0.03, p b = 0.18, SE = 0.04, p b = 0.22, SE = 0.04, p ps < 0.01), but not MVPA, DED, or BMI. Results support previous literature that neighborhood walkability has a positive influence on walking

Biology · Body mass index · Built environment · Global Positioning System · Overweight · Physical activity · Physical therapy · Walkability · Computer Science · Demography · Medicine · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet · Physical Activity and Health · Urban Transport and Accessibility · Ecology · Internal Medicine

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