1. Prospective associations between neighborhood features and body mass index in Montreal adolescents.
- Author
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Cavaillès C, Barnett TA, Sylvestre MP, Smyrnova A, Van Hulst A, and O'Loughlin J
- Subjects
- Humans, Male, Adolescent, Female, Prospective Studies, Quebec, Neighborhood Characteristics, Child, Urban Population statistics & numerical data, Canada epidemiology, Environment Design, Cluster Analysis, Walking statistics & numerical data, Body Mass Index, Residence Characteristics statistics & numerical data, Built Environment statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the association between the neighborhood built environment and trajectories of body mass index (BMI) in youth., Methods: Data were collected in a prospective study of 1293 adolescents in Montreal. Built environment variables were obtained from public databases for road networks, land use, and the Canadian Census. Anthropometric data were collected when participants were ages 12.5, 15 and 17 years. We undertook hierarchical cluster analysis to identify contrasting neighborhood types based on features of the built environment (e.g., vegetation, population density, walkability). Associations between neighborhood type and trajectories of BMI z-score (BMIz) were estimated using multivariable linear mixed regression analyses, stratified by sex., Results: We identified three neighborhood types: Urban, Suburban, and Village. In contrast to the Urban type, the Suburban type was characterized by more vegetation, few services and low population density. Village and Suburban types were similar, but the former had greater land use diversity, population density with more parks and a denser food environment. Among girls, living in Urban types was associated with decreasing BMIz trajectories. Living in Village types was associated with increasing BMIz trajectories. No associations were observed among boys., Conclusions: Neighborhoods characterized by greater opportunities for active living appear to be less obesogenic, particularly among girls., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)
- Published
- 2024
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