Something Closer to Home

Although this might be beating the point that the built environment and SES impact risk factors for obesity to death, but the evidence was also replicated in Edmonton by Dr. Tanya Berry and others from University of Alberta.

Over a six year longitudinal study, the authors found that a younger age and living in a lower SES neighbourhood significantly predicted increased BMI. There was lower neighbourhood satisfaction and higher BMIs in communities with lower incomes. The study also found that the biggest gains in obesity were among young adults, between the ages 18-34.

However, longitudinally, the authors found little change between BMI and walkability of neighbourhoods. This was interestingly attributed to healthier people self-selecting more walkable neighbourhoods, which means that longitudinally there would be low impact on BMI changes. There were components to lower socioeconomic neighbourhoods that contributed to increased obesity.