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Countrywide natural experiment links built environment to physical activity

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Overview

Paper Summary › Explain Like I'm Five › Conflicts of Interest › Identified Limitations › Rating Explanation › Good to know › Topic Hierarchy › File Information ›

Paper Summary

Paperzilla title
Want to Walk More? Move to a Walkable City!

People who moved to more walkable cities significantly increased their daily steps and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Relocations to similarly walkable cities did not change physical activity levels, and the effects persisted for at least three months. The study leverages smartphone and walkability data across 7,447 relocations to quantify the impact of walkability on activity levels.

Explain Like I'm Five

Moving to more walkable cities makes people walk more. They got more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, which is good for health.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

None identified.

Identified Limitations

Observational study
The findings are observational and there could be other underlying factors contributing to the observed associations between the built environment and physical activity levels. This is a single country study and results may not generalize to other countries.
Potential selection effects due to mobile app usage
Smartphone users may not be a representative sample of the general population. There is limited generalizability to other forms of physical activity such as biking and running, which don't rely on steps.
Limited walkability measure
Other important factors related to the built environment, such as land use mix and access to public transit, were not considered. This is a limitation of the walkability measure used in the study, preventing a deeper analysis of walkability.

Rating Explanation

This is a large, well-designed study analyzing objective physical activity and walkability data across 7,447 relocations in 1,609 U.S. cities. Its results highlight the important role of the built environment in increasing healthy behaviors and improving public health. The authors attempted to address important selection effects.

Good to know

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File Information

Original Title: Countrywide natural experiment links built environment to physical activity
Uploaded: August 18, 2025 at 02:06 PM
Privacy: Public