Spatial index relating urban environment to health lifestyle and obesity risk in men and women from different age groups

Abstract

The challenge in the search for relationships between urban space, physical mobility, and health status, is detecting indicators able to link the environment with healthy life habits. Therefore, the objective was to design an urban index for the identification of urban environment propensity for physical activity (PA) and to determine how it relates to lifestyle and anthropometric parametrization of obesity. Participants (N = 318-60.4% women and 39.6% men) were recruited from a mid-sized city with epidemiology and morbidity rates below the average for the mid-west region of Brazil. Body mass index (BMI) was measured and a questionnaire was applied to gather information about PA and life habits. The spatial urban health index (SUHI) was designed in a geographic information system using data from demographic, environmental and urban physical features. The relationship between BMI and PA was verified with multiple linear regression, controlled for SUHI levels. Regarding the BMI of the population, 69.5% were classified in the eutrophic or overweight ranges, with no effect of gender and age. The SUHI classified 63.7% of the urban area favorable to PA. The PA routine was adequate (�3 sessions with �1 h each) for~80% of the population, as well as healthy habits such as non smoking (~94%) and non alcohol abuse (~55%). The SUHI strengthens the relationships of BMI to weekly frequency (r =-0.68; t =-9.4; p<0.001) and session duration (r =-0.66; t =-2.8; p<0.001) for the whole group by improving the explanatory coefficient in~25% (R 2 Adj = 0.61 to R 2 Adj = 0.85). The SUHI indicated that the urban environment is able to promote healthy life habits by diminishing the "obesogenic" features of the city when physical structures are planned to facilitate PA, whatever the gender and age group.

Sociodemographic disparities and contextual factors in obesity: updated evidence from a National Survey of Risk Factors for Chronic Diseases

“…Thus, our findings of a lower obesity risk associated with contexts with greater SCCR in young people could be related to a mechanism mediated by the availability, perception and use of sports centres or other amenities that were part of the SCRR index. In a Brazilian study on obesity, the authors reinforce the idea that a favourable decrease in 'obesogenic' traits in the urban environment is possible when physical structures are planned to facilitate physical activity (50) . Alternatively, we propose that the distribution of the SCRR variable could depict a sort of 'regionalisation' (geographical division) underlying socio-economic and cultural characteristics of the populations or could represent different patterns of land use.…”

“…These results may reflect poor access to a healthy diet and low opportunities to adopt healthy behaviours, in women with a low-income level, especially if they live in urbanised areas. Interestingly, Oliveira et al (50) indicated that there are several aspects (physical, economic, political and sociocultural) of the environmental factors that would independently affect men and women, and that obesogenic influence of the environment may differ in small and medium-sized cities, when compared to large cities.…”

“…In general, there is consensus that the built environment plays a key role as a barrier or enabler to physical activity and as a mediator in access to healthy food (54,58) . Interestingly, an exhaustive review from the perspective of developing countries (50) concludes that health-promoting built environments can have a profound influence not only on the population levels of physical activity but also on its wellbeing and equityboth socio-economic and age-sensitive. Thus, our findings of a lower obesity risk associated with contexts with greater SCCR in young people could be related to a mechanism mediated by the availability, perception and use of sports centres or other amenities that were part of the SCRR index.…”

My future depends on me: practicies of healthy novaday

“…Серед здорових звичок його мешканців фіксували некуріння (~94 %) і невживання алкоголю (~55 %). Виявилося, що міське середовище цілком здатне сприяти здоровим звичкам незалежно від статі і вікової групи (Oliveira et al, 2020).…”

Perceived Urban Environment Attributes and Device-Measured Physical Activity in Latin America: An 8-Nation Study

“…Historical, political, physical, economic, and social environments not explored by this study might be capable of impacting PA, given that they independently impact environmental associations with PA in the different countries. 7,36,69 For example, Brazil has a different urban planning and design approach from those of other countries in the region. Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela were mainly colonized by Spain; therefore, their urban morphology is different from that of Brazil, which was colonized by Portugal.…”