Journal article
The built and social neighborhood environment and child obesity: A systematic review of longitudinal studies
Preventive medicine, v 153, 106790
Dec 2021
PMID: 34506813
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
The built and social neighborhood environment where a child lives has been increasingly studied as an exposure that may affect child weight long term. We conducted a systematic review of primary research articles published in 2011 through 2019 that reported results from longitudinal analyses of associations between neighborhood environment characteristics and child obesity or weight. Neighborhood environment measures included proximity to food stores, parks, and recreational facilities, walkability, crime, perceived safety, and social cohesion. Information on study population, exposure and outcome measures, and main results were extracted from 39 studies and results were presented for full cohorts and stratified by sex. Most studies were prospective cohorts (90%) with a median follow-up time of six years. Studies analyzing changes in the neighborhood versus changes in weight were less common than approaches analyzing baseline measures of the neighborhood environment in relation to obesity incidence or weight trajectories. Associations varied by sex, race/ethnicity, and age group. Within the food environment domain, the strongest evidence of adverse impact was for fast food restaurants but the effect was only apparent among girls. Results suggested green space, parks, and recreational facilities may have a beneficial effect on weight. Increased crime and low perceived safety may be risk factors for increased weight although not all studies were consistent. Standardization of measures across studies, investigation of multiple social and physical environment measures simultaneously, effect modification by demographic characteristics, and change in the environment vs change in weight analyses are needed to strengthen conclusions.
•Greenspace and recreational facilities appear to have a protective association with weight trajectories in children.•Increases in crime appear to be a risk factor for weight gain.•Exposure measures and neighborhood definitions should be standardized and include sensitivity analyses of these measures.•Future studies should be conducted in other contexts such as low- and middle- income countries and rural areas.
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Details
- Title
- The built and social neighborhood environment and child obesity: A systematic review of longitudinal studies
- Creators
- Kimberly M. Daniels - Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.Leah H. Schinasi - Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.Amy H. Auchincloss - Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.Christopher B. Forrest - Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaAna V. Diez Roux - Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Publication Details
- Preventive medicine, v 153, 106790
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Urban Health Collaborative; Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Environmental and Occupational Health
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000703571900005
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85114938501
- Other Identifier
- 991019169006604721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health