Obesity prevalence among US children and adolescents has tripled in the past three decades. Consequently, dramatic increases in chronic disease incidence are expected, particularly among populations already experiencing health disparities. Recent evidence identifies characteristics of “obesogenic” neighborhood environments that affect weight and weight-related behaviors. This study aimed to examine associations between built, socioeconomic, and social characteristics of a child’s residential environment on body mass index (BMI), diet, and physical activity. We focused on pre-adolescent children living in New Haven, Connecticut to better understand neighborhood environments’ contribution to persistent health disparities. Participants were 1048 fifth and sixth grade students who completed school-based health surveys and physical measures in fall 2009. Student data were linked to US Census, parks, retailer, and crime data. Analyses were conducted using multilevel modeling. Property crimes and living further from a grocery store were associated with higher BMI. Students living within a 5-min walk of a fast food outlet had higher BMI, and those living in a tract with higher density of fast food outlets reported less frequent healthy eating and more frequent unhealthy eating. Students’ reported perceptions of access to parks, playgrounds, and gyms were associated with more frequent healthy eating and exercise. Students living in more affluent neighborhoods reported more frequent healthy eating, less unhealthy eating, and less screen time. Neighborhood social ties were positively associated with frequency of exercise. In conclusion, distinct domains of neighborhood environment characteristics were independently related to children’s BMI and health behaviors. Findings link healthy behaviors with built, social, and socioeconomic environment assets (access to parks, social ties, affluence), and unhealthy behaviors with built environment inhibitors (access to fast food outlets), suggesting neighborhood environments are an important level at which to intervene to prevent childhood obesity and its adverse consequences.

SummaryObjectiveThis study examined the cross‐sectional and longitudinal relationships of built environment characteristics with adiposity and glycaemic measures.MethodLongitudinal study sample consisted of 4,010 Framingham Heart Study Offspring (baseline: 1998–2001; follow‐up: 2005–2008) and Generation Three (baseline: 2002–2005; follow‐up: 2008–2011) participants (54.8% women, baseline mean age 48.6 years). Built environment characteristics (intersection density, greenspace, recreation land and food stores) at baseline were collected. Adiposity and glycaemic measures (body mass index [BMI], waist circumference, abdominal subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue, and fasting plasma glucose) at baseline and changes during 6.4‐year follow‐up were measured.ResultsIn cross‐sectional models, higher intersection density and food store density (total food stores, fast food restaurants and supermarkets) were linearly associated with higher BMI (all p < 0.05). Higher greenspace was associated with lower BMI, waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose, prevalent obesity and prevalent diabetes (all p < 0.05). Longitudinally, higher intersection density and food store density, and lower greenspace were associated with smaller increases in abdominal visceral adipose tissue (all p < 0.05). Higher densities of intersections, fast food restaurants and supermarkets were associated with smaller increases in fasting plasma glucose (all p < 0.05).ConclusionsCollectively, built environment characteristics are associated with adiposity and glycaemic traits, suggesting the potential mechanisms by which built environment influences cardiometabolic health.

No abstract

Since 1991, the US Government has funded medical and support services for people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. The Ryan White Program supports networks of care which include medical care providers and support services for PLWHA in 51 Eligible Metropolitan Areas (EMAs). In the 2000 reauthorization of the Ryan White Program, quality management programs were required for all sites receiving funding. To facilitate quality management and improvement activities in EMAs, we developed a set of surveys to measure characteristics of care networks and the quality, accessibility, and coordination of services from the perspective of case management and medical providers, administrators and consumers. The surveys measured quality management and support activities of the entire network, as well as reported quality of services at individual care sites. They were administered in 42 EMAs from a total of 43 who had not participated in earlier pilot testing and were located in the continental US. The care networks were rated highly on access, quality, and coordination between case management and primary care providers. However, there were frequently differences in ratings of quality and barriers by type of respondent (consumer representatives, Grantees, and providers). There were also substantial variations across EMAs in network characteristics, perceived effectiveness, performance measurement, and quality improvement activities. The results indicate that the Ryan White Program has been successful in some areas of developing networks of care, but additional support is needed to strengthen the comprehensiveness and coordination of care. Additional work also is needed to better define and measure the essential characteristics of coordinated and integrated networks of care and assess whether those characteristics are related to access and quality of care and services.

No abstract