Objective and perceived neighbourhood walkability: population-average associations with transportation and recreational physical activity in urban-dwelling Canadian adults

The extent to which objective and perceived neighbourhood walkability together shape physical activity is not well understood. Using data from a national sample of urban-dwelling adults in Canada, our study examined whether perceived walkability moderated associations between objective walkability and physical activity undertaken for transportation (TPA) and recreation (RPA). National data from 3,995 adults (Canadian Health Measures Survey; 2016-2019) including self-reported sociodemographic characteristics, perceived walkability, and TPA and RPA were linked to objective walkability scores from the 2016 Canadian Active Living Environments (Can-ALE) dataset. Pooled and sex-stratified covariate-adjusted Hurdle models estimated associations between objective and perceived walkability (main and interaction effects), used to determine population-average weekly minutes of TPA and RPA. Objective walkability was positively associated with TPA in the pooled (β = 9.39; 95% CI: 0.61 to 11.18) and sex-stratified samples (male β = 7.75; 95% CI: 5.42 to 10.08 and female β = 11.60; 95% CI: 8.88 to 14.31). Perceived walkability was positively associated with TPA in the pooled (β = 5.53; 95% CI:1.55 to 9.51) and male-only sample (β = 6.00; 95% CI: 0.31 to 11.68). Among males, perceived walkability was also associated with RPA (β = 8.13; 95% CI: 0.61 to 15.66). For males, the objective-by-perceived walkability interaction had a synergistic effect on TPA but an antagonistic effect on RPA. No interactions were observed among females. Objective and perceived walkability were positively associated with TPA. Perceived walkability was also linked to RPA among males. Their combined influence enhanced TPA but reduced RPA in males, suggesting physical and perceptual aspects of the neighbourhood built environment may interact differently across physical activity domains and sex.