Faculty of Sports Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Calle Tajo S/N, Villaviciosa de Odón, 28670 Madrid, Spain.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Aug 4;17(15):5622. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17155622.
Walkability has been associated with urban development and political plans, contributing to more connected cities with improvements in communication, shopping, and pedestrian base. Among these services, fitness centers are becoming important elements for communities due to their impact on the health and welfare of citizens. The present study aims to examine how an area's Walk Score affects fitness center services, specifically membership costs, opening hours, and aquatic services. Data from 193 fitness centers were retrieved, representing all the areas of the municipality of Madrid, Spain, including fitness centers in the 21 city districts. A nonlinear relationship between an area's Walk Score and fitness centers' monthly fees is observed. Only in premium fitness centers, a weak curvilinear model is observed, following a quadratic equation, showing that fitness centers with higher prices are in less walkable areas. Additionally, the association between Walk Score and a fitness center's opening hours reveals that fitness centers with wider hours of operation tend to be in moderately to highly walkable locations. Lastly, the existence of a swimming pool is related to a lower Walk Score. Thus, fitness centers in less walkable areas try to offer additional services as differentiation from competitors, whereas centers in walkable locations use this advantage as a strength.
可步行性与城市发展和政治规划相关，有助于城市之间更加互联互通，改善交通、购物和行人基础。在这些服务中，健身中心由于对公民健康和福利的影响，正在成为社区的重要元素。本研究旨在探讨一个地区的步行得分如何影响健身中心的服务，特别是会员费、开放时间和水上服务。研究检索了 193 家健身中心的数据，代表了西班牙马德里市的所有地区，包括该市 21 个区的健身中心。研究发现，一个地区的步行得分与健身中心的月费之间存在非线性关系。仅在高档健身中心中，观察到一个微弱的曲线模型，遵循二次方程，表明价格较高的健身中心位于步行性较差的地区。此外，步行得分与健身中心开放时间之间的关联表明，营业时间较宽的健身中心往往位于中度到高度可步行的位置。最后，游泳池的存在与较低的步行得分有关。因此，步行性较差地区的健身中心试图提供额外的服务以与竞争对手区分开来，而步行便利地区的中心则将这一优势作为优势。
