There were three environmental pathways …show more content…
The mediating effects assist with the evidence of the built environment and its association with the demographics such as age, gender, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
The third pathway has to do with situations in the environment that “moderate” the relationship between the health outcome variables. The mediating effects assist with the evidence of the built environment and its association with the demographics such as age, gender, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. The moderate effects of the built environment are associated with the functional and/or the mobility or disability of the older population. Research shows evidenced that the environment, walking and physical activity are all tied together. The built environment can and has been proven to influence either positively or negatively the health behaviors and outcomes in the older population. The built environment influences walking, other physical activity, nutrition, falls and injuries, depression, disability and mortality. Walking has been found to be the most common physical activity. Moreover, it has been proven that physical activity can improve the health outcomes of …show more content…
There is stemmed from this research the need for a new direction for environmental research, practice and policy. These are the five recommendations for such research: 1. Develop and integrated conceptual model of the built environment, mobility, and activities of everyday life. 2. Develop strategies to conduct better longitudinal studies 3. Expand the study of diverse aging populations 4. Expand the biological and behavioral mechanisms to explain the effects of the built environment on health and well-being in older