Neighborhood walkability and body mass index trajectories: Longitudinal study of Canadians

R.A. Wasfi, K. Dasgupta, H. Orpana and N.A. Ross

American Journal of Public Health, 2016, vol. 106, issue 5, 934-940

Abstract: Objectives. To assess the impact of neighborhood walkability on body mass index (BMI) trajectories of urban Canadians. Methods. Data are from Canada's National Population Health Survey (n = 2935; biannual assessments 1994-2006). We measured walkability with the Walk Score. We modeled body mass index (BMI, defined as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters [kg/m2]) trajectories as a function of Walk Score and sociodemographic and behavioral covariates with growth curve models and fixed-effects regression models. Results. In men, BMI increased annually by an average of 0.13 kg/m2 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.11, 0.14) over the 12 years of follow-up. Moving to a high-walkable neighborhood (2 or more Walk Score quartiles higher) decreased BMI trajectories for men by approximately 1 kg/m2 (95% CI = -1.16, -0.17). Moving to a low-walkable neighborhood increased BMI for men by approximately 0.45 kg/m2 (95% CI = 0.01, 0.89). There was no detectable influence of neighborhood walkability on body weight for women. Conclusions. Our study of a large sample of urban Canadians followed for 12 years confirms that neighborhood walkability influences BMI trajectories for men, and may be influential in curtailing male age-related weight gain.

Keywords: body mass; Canada; Canadian; confidence interval; female; follow up; growth curve; health survey; height; human; human tissue; longitudinal study; major clinical study; male; model; neighborhood; psychological model; statistical model; weight gain; adolescent; adult; body weight; demography; environment; health behavior; longitudinal study; middle aged; sex difference; socioeconomics; statistics and numerical data; urban population; walking; young adult, Adolescent; Adult; Body Mass Index; Body Weight; Canada; Environment; Female; Health Behavior; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Middle Aged; Residence Characteristics; Sex Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Urban Population; Walking; Young Adult (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2016.303096_1

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303096

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