# Validation of Urban Parks for Physical Activity Enhancement in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Developing Country Experience

## TL;DR

This study shows how urban parks can be designed to help older adults safely increase their physical activity through calibrated walking trails.

## Contribution

The study provides calibrated, cadence-based urban park trails with expected physiological responses for older adults.

## Key findings

- Physiological responses increased in a dose-responsive manner across low, medium, and high-intensity trails.
- Walking time remained feasible for a brief bout, with no adverse events reported.
- Calibrated trails offer practice-ready parameters for clinicians and municipalities to implement safe walking prescriptions.

## Abstract

Background and objective

Built-environment guidance rarely translates into practice-ready walking prescriptions for older adults. In light of this, we calibrated graded, cadence-based urban park trails to generate target intensities and expected physiological responses to inform primary care and municipal signage.

Methods

Community-dwelling adults aged ≥60 years completed three predefined trails (low-, medium-, and high-intensity). Oxygen uptake (VO₂), minute ventilation (VE), and heart rate (HR) were recorded with a portable metabolic system and an optical HR sensor; cadence was metronome-guided to reach target intensities. Outcomes included VO₂, VE, HR, energy expenditure per ~12-15-minute bout, and perceived exertion.

Results

Physiological responses exhibited a graded, dose-responsive profile across trails. Mean VO₂, VE, HR, and energy expenditure increased from low to high, while walking time remained feasible for a brief bout. We provide practice-ready parameters (distance and cadence bands with expected intensity ranges) for implementation. No adverse events occurred.

Conclusions

Calibrated park trails can operationalize safe, scalable walking prescriptions for older adults. These translational outputs (distance and cadence ranges) are directly usable by clinicians and municipalities. Future evaluations should assess uptake, adherence, and health outcomes in real-world settings.