Neighborhoods matter; but for whom? Heterogeneity of neighborhood disadvantage on child obesity by sex

Obesity Heterogeneity by Neighborhood Context in a Largely Latinx Sample

“…Thus, in line with our expectations, using a diverse sample and accounting for important comorbid conditions, we show that a child's neighborhood of residence independently associates with higher BMI z-scores. This could be driven by the overall higher incidence of overweight and obesity in the USA among Latinx youth, combined with compounding neighborhood-level determinants such as the absence of a health-promoting infrastructure that led to the greater prevalence of higher BMI [2][3][4][31][32][33][34][35][36][37].…”

“…Family-level, obesity-relevant factors include family physical activity, family mealtimes, food insecurity, and the income-to-need ratio [60][61][62]. The relationship among individual characteristics, in-home practices, and child obesity, however, is complicated by the influence of neighborhood-level descriptors [31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. For example, neighborhood median income modifies the association between a child's BMI z-score and proximity to fast-food restaurants [63].…”

“…Crucially, the neighborhood context does impact girls and boys in a different way in terms of health benefits [31].…”

“…Relatedly, the consumption of highcalorie foods with little-to-no nutritional value and the chronic psychosocial stress brought on by having limited economic resources influence weight trajectories among Latinx children [26][27][28]. Moreover, the neighborhood socioeconomic environment where Latinx children live influences body weight status, and neighborhoods with predominately racial/ethnic minority residents have higher levels of poverty and lower levels of education, which are independently associated with childhood obesity [29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. Notably, data indicate that living in either a low-SES household or a low-SES neighborhood is enough to increase the risk of child obesity [36].…”

Investigating the relationships between concentrated disadvantage, place connectivity, and COVID-19 fatality in the United States over time

“…Due to social and cultural segregation, the disintegration of collective cohesion, limited institutional resources, dirty and disorderly environment, higher disadvantaged areas are associated with higher levels of crime rates [ 4 ] and fear of crime [ 5 ], antisocial behavior [ 6 ], intimate partner violence [ 7 ], violent victimization among youths [ 8 ], alcohol abuse [ 9 ], lower life satisfaction [ 10 ], adult unemployment and earnings [ 11 ], and negative educational outcomes [ 12 ]. Meanwhile, many studies have revealed the significant relationships between concentrated disadvantages and differential forms of health inequalities, such as the increased risk of breast cancer [ 13 ], increased incidence rate of lung cancer [ 14 ], diabetes and cholesterol control [ 15 ], obesity [ 16 ], pediatric obstructive sleep apnea [ 17 ], DNA methylation [ 18 ], adolescent brain cognitive development [ 19 ], depression [ 3 , 20 , 21 ], and worse mental health status [ 22 ].…”