Socio-environmental influences on Nordic walking participation and their implications for well-being

This article presents a mixed method approach to merge the results from quantitative and qualitative studies into Nordic walking. By doing so, this study provides the multiple perspectives of the social and environmental influences on participation in Nordic walking together with exploration of the relationships between Nordic walking and well-being. Two hundred twenty British Nordic walking practitioners completed the online questionnaire about socio-environmental influences on their walking and measured their mental wellbeing using the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS). Ten women and two men with various levels of Nordic walking experience were interviewed during walking events in the United Kingdom. By employing a thematic analysis, socio-environmental influences and their implications for well-being were explored. This study adds a further dimension to the theoretical knowledge of the role of the social and environmental factors that influence the engagement in Nordic walking and contribute to well-being. The findings suggest that Nordic walking can benefit well-being through promoting positive feelings related to the companionship in a group, offering social support of instructors in reaching individual health and fitness goals, providing the options for exploring personal capacities and developing skills, which contribute to a sense of achievement and self-worth, and leading to feelings of satisfaction with the activity. Management implications: The management implication of this study is in acknowledging that the growing popularity of Nordic walking as a leisure activity provides the opportunity for reinventing leisure walking as an innovative means to maintain and improve physical health of the sedentary and older populations. Public health strategies for adopting Nordic walking as a health intervention should also acknowledge its wellbeing benefits, positive social interactions and skills development that rise from the participation. Urban planning policies should focus on developing aesthetic walkable neighbourhoods characterised by well-maintained paths and lighting that promote physical activity. The successful implementation of strategies to promote Nordic walking clearly has the potential to make a substantial contribution towards increasing the activity levels of the sedentary and older populations.