Table 2.
Characteristics of People Observed Walking in 10 Malls and 6 Nonmalls
| Venue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | Total (N = 530) | Malls (n = 443) | Nonmalls (n = 87) | P valuea |
| Demographicsb | ||||
| Sex (%) | ||||
| Female | 57 | 55 | 67 | .13 |
| Race/ethnicity (%) | ||||
| Nonwhite and/or ethnic minority | 22 | 24 | 8 | .003 |
| Age group (%) | < .001 | |||
| Children | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0 | |
| Adolescents | 3 | 0.7 | 15 | |
| Adults | 33 | 29 | 54 | |
| Older adults | 63 | 69 | 31 | |
| Use of assistive device (%) | ||||
| Cane, walker, shopping cart, scooter, or wheelchair |
2.3 | 2.6 | 4.6 | .26 |
| Physical activity level (%) | .07 | |||
| Sedentaryc | 4 | 5 | 0 | |
| Walking (moderate)d | 84 | 84 | 84 | |
| Vigorouse | 12 | 11 | 16 | |
| Average EE (SD)f | 3.3 (2.6) | 4.4 (3.2) | 1.5 (0.9) | .12 |
| Average observation time in min (SD) | 20.4 (14.3) | 20.2 (9.2) | 20.8 (21.4) | .93 |
Abbreviation: EE, energy expenditure rate.
c2 tests or t tests.
Percentages were rounded, where possible, to nearest whole number and were based on walkers who were counted after crossing an imaginary sight line. Observation times at each venue ranged from 3 to 30 min, and were based on the length of time it would take 1 person to complete 1 circuit at a pace of 2.5 mph.
% persons observed on the walking route who were lying down, sitting, or standing in place.
% Persons observed walking at a casual pace.
% Persons observed walking at greater than a leisurely pace (eg, brisk walking, race walking, walking with ankle or wrist weights).
EE is the total estimated kcal/kg expended by all walkers observed in the sedentary, walking, and vigorous categories, multiplied by the constants 0.051 kcal/kg/min, 0.096 kcal/kg/min, and 0.144 kcal/kg/min, respectively. The average EE rates are the sum of the venue-level EE rates divided by the number of venues (ie, average EE for all venues = 53/16 venues; average mall EE = 44/10 malls; average nonmall EE = 9/6 nonmall sites).