Associations between Resident Perceptions of the Local Residential Environment and Metabolic Syndrome

Table 3

Factor structure of the Australian version of the Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Scale (𝑛=1,656).

Item no.^a	Item	Item loading on each factor^b
		Factor 1	Factor 2	Factor 3	Factor 4	Factor 5
A1	Can do most shopping				0.81
A2	Many shops within easy walking distance				0.89
A3	Many places to go within easy walking distance				0.85
A4	Easy to walk to public transport stop			−0.54
A5	Streets in local area are hilly			0.39
A6	Major barriers to walking					0.53
A7	Car parking difficult in shopping areas					0.50
B1	Footpaths on most of the streets			−0.75
B2	Footpaths are well maintained			−0.63
B3	Park or nature reserve easily accessible			−0.43
B4	Grass/dirt strip separating streets from footpaths			−0.58
B5	Footpaths separated from road/traffic by parked cars					0.28
B6	Bicycle or walking paths easily accessible			−0.50
C1	Lots of greenery around the local area	0.63
C2	Tree cover or canopy along footpaths	0.50
C3	Many interesting things to look at	0.74
C4	Local area free from litter, rubbish, or graffiti		0.53
C5	Attractive buildings and homes	0.67
C6	Pleasant natural features	0.70
D1	Lots of traffic along most nearby streets					0.68
D2	Live on or near main arterial road or throughway for motor vehicles					0.58
D3	Speed of traffic usually slow	0.29
D4	Many traffic slowing devices			−0.38
D5	Busy streets have pedestrian crossings and traffic signals			−0.50
D6	A lot of exhaust fumes					0.61
E1	Streets are well lit at night			−0.51
E2	A lot of petty crime		0.78
E3	A lot of major crime		0.79
E4	Level of crime makes it unsafe to walk during the day		0.66
E5	Level of crime makes it unsafe to walk at night		0.82
E6	Feel safe walking home from a bus or train stop at night		−0.62

^aNEWS-AU subscales: [51] A: access to services; B: infrastructure for walking/cycling; C: aesthetics; D: traffic safety; E: crime safety. ^bFactors derived from this analysis: factor 1: aesthetics; factor 2: crime; factor 3: infrastructure for walking; factor 4: access to services; factor 5: barriers to walking.