Urban sprawl and childhood obesity

Abstract

Summary Urban sprawl is thought to be a risk factor for childhood obesity primarily because the physical environment it creates discourages children's physical activity while encouraging their sedentary behavior. However, there has not been any review on the association between urban sprawl and childhood obesity. This study filled this research gap by comprehensively reviewing literature focusing on associations between urban sprawl and weight‐related behaviors and outcomes among children and adolescents. Only two longitudinal and three cross‐sectional studies conducted in two countries were identified. Sample sizes ranged from 2324 to 129 781. Four studies used weight status, and only one study used both behaviors and weight status as outcome variables. All positive, negative, and non‐significant associations were reported. This review could not identify a clear association between urban sprawl and childhood obesity. More longitudinal studies are needed for in‐depth analyses on this important topic in more regions, which would be important not only for public health guidelines but also for research, practice, and policies in urban planning.

Determinants of urban sprawl in Latin America: evidence from Santiago de Chile

“…These impacts include the costs of sprawl, social problems, environmental objections, limits to urban growth, car-dependency, inefficient land-uses, encroachment of rural lands, sociospatial segregation, and effects at global scales linked to climate change (Bruegmann 2005). Further impacts include correlations between car-dependency and higher rates of obesity (Wu et al 2020), traffic congestion, inner-city decay, high rates of energy consumption, transportation costs, air pollution, reduction of environmental services, inefficient land-uses, and adverse impacts on social capital inter alia (Hamidi and Zandiatashbar 2019).…”

International Study of 24-hour Movement Behaviors of Early Years (SUNRISE): A Pilot Study from Bangladesh

“…Not only are immediate health and quality of life affected, but children with obesity are also at greater risk of developing several non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, stroke, and cancer [2,4]. Obesity at a young age tends to persist into adolescence and adulthood and can give rise to chronic illness and premature death [3].…”

“…Childhood obesity poses an urgent public health challenge in the 21st century and is rising at an alarming pace in both high income and low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 2019, around 38 million children (age < 5 years) were reported as having overweight or obesity and according to a recent projection, 45% (approximately 4 billion) of the global population will experience obesity by 2035 [1][2][3].…”

A changed research landscape of youth's obesogenic behaviours and environments in the post‐COVID‐19 era

“…The project ‘Obesogenic Environment and Childhood Obesity’ (OBECHO), carried out under the leadership of the International Institute of Spatial Lifecourse Epidemiology (ISLE), 1,2 has reviewed all sufficiently reported studies of obesogenic environmental determinants published prior to 1 January 2019 3–22 . Specifically, built, food and natural environmental determinants of youths' weight‐related behaviours (e.g., physical activity [PA], sedentary behaviours and dietary behaviours) and outcomes (e.g., body mass index, overweight, obesity, waist circumference, waist‐to‐hip ratio and body fat) have been systematically reviewed.…”