Associations Between Neighborhood Environment and Physical Activity Among Older Adults with Varying Functional Capabilities: A Cross-Sectional Study in Tsuru City, Japan

Physical activity is influenced by built environment, but these associations may differ according to functional capability and subjective and objective environmental measures. Using data from a mail survey of 5,489 community-dwelling older adults, we examined associations between neighborhood environments and physical activity across functional capability levels. Objective environmental factors were associated with physical activity only among the robust group, whereas subjective environmental factors were associated with physical activity across all functional capability groups. These findings suggest that associations between neighborhood environments and physical activity vary by functional capability and highlight importance of policies addressing both subjective and objective environmental factors.