Physical activity (PA) among older adults is strongly associated with neighborhood environmental characteristics. This study examined the spatially varying relationships between built environment features within a 500-meter buffer zone, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong. A cross-sectional sample of 410 adults aged 60–80 years was analyzed. Objective PA data were collected using ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers, while environmental variables were obtained from government websites and Gaode Map. Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR), implemented via the Python package mgwr (v2.1.1), was used to assess spatial variation in associations between MVPA and both individual factors (e.g., age, gender, financial and health status) and environmental features (e.g., walking distance to key facilities, road and building density, green space, and population density). The GWR model outperformed the global OLS model, reducing the residual sum of squares from 312.658 to 278.733 and increasing the R² from 0.237 to 0.320. Among individual factors, age was negatively associated with MVPA, while being male, financially secure, and in better physical health predicted higher MVPA. Environmental features such as proximity to public markets showed consistent positive associations with MVPA, whereas the effects of proximity to elderly centres and other facilities varied spatially. These findings highlight the importance of neighbourhood-scale built environment features in shaping physical activity in older adults and underscore the need for geographically targeted, age-friendly urban planning to promote healthy aging in high-density settings.

Authors:
Alison Y. T Ou, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Daniel W. L. Lai, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Alison Ou is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU).Her general research interests include aging and health, environmental gerontology, physical activity, social policy, a

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