Contribution of Trails/Paths to Adults' Physical Activity

Little is known about the contribution of community walking
trails and paths to overall physical activity levels or about the
relationships between trail characteristics and utilization.
Technologies, such as accelerometers that can objectively
measure physical activity and small wearable Global Positioning
System (GPS) units that can track spatial patterns of activity
provide a unique opportunity to study these issues. This study
is building on our first Active Living Research project that is
developing and evaluating objective Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) measures of trail characteristics.

The current study has two primary aims: 1) determine the amount
and proportion of physical activity conducted on trails among adult
users who simultaneously wear accelerometers and portable GPS
units; and 2) examine associations between objectively measured
physical characteristics of trails and levels of use, as determined by accelerometers and GPS units.

We will conduct brief intercept surveys with a randomly selected
sample of 600 adult trail users at 6 sites in Massachusetts and
collect accelerometer and GPS data on a sub-sample of 180 users.
GPS and accelerometer data will be linked to a GIS database of trail
physical characteristics. Key physical activity outcomes that we will
study include average minutes per day in light, moderate, and
vigorous-intensity activity on and off the trail and an “activity per
trail segment” variable that links accelerometer/GPS data on
individuals to GIS data on trail segments. Statistical models will
be used to examine associations between physical activity outcomes
and demographic characteristics of individuals, physical characteristics
of trails and trail segments, and neighborhood environmental
variables. We expect this first of its kind study to yield new insights
into the contribution of trails to adults’ physical activity.

Principal Investigator: Philip Troped, PhD, MS
Funder: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - Active Living Research Program
Funding Dates: May 1, 2004 - April 30, 2006