Longitudinal Assessment of Urban Form and Weight Gain in African-American Women

Abstract

Background-Numerous cross-sectional studies have found higher levels of obesity among residents of auto-oriented, sprawling areas compared to residents of more urban areas.

Driving towards obesity: A systematized literature review on the association between motor vehicle travel time and distance and weight status in adults

“…Eighty percent of these studies present some evidence suggesting that higher levels of driving behavior, regardless of operational definition (time or distance spent traveling in a motor vehicle) are associated with a higher risk of adverse weight status. This finding supports related research showing that higher levels of motor vehicle ownership (Bell et al, 2002;Parra et al, 2009) and frequency of car use (Hess and Russell, 2012;Sugiyama et al, 2013) are associated with an increased risk of overweight and obesity as well as some studies that report higher levels of overweight and obesity in auto-oriented neighborhoods versus pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods, where driving behavior is more convenient (Coogan et al, 2011;Frank et al, 2007).…”

Ambient Air Pollution and 16-Year Weight Change in African-American Women

“…Previous BWHS studies found weight gain to be inversely associated with eating more fruits and vegetables and positively associated with eating more meat and fried foods, 16 lower levels of parental education and current education, 17 living in less dense versus more dense neighborhoods, 18 living in disadvantaged neighborhoods relative to wealthier neighborhoods, 19 and reporting more experiences of racism. 20 …”

Effects of buffer size and shape on associations between the built environment and energy balance

“…Street connectivity could have influences on energy balance, as more connected street networks represent shorter distances between desintations and likely more dense neighborhoods conducive to walking (Berrigan et al, 2010). Intersection counts within a buffer are a common measure of street connectivity, which is defined as the directness and availability of alternative routes from one point to another within a street network (Berrigan et al, 2010, Coogan et al, 2009, Coogan et al, 2011, Handy et al, 2002). …”