Food environment, walkability, and public open spaces are associated with incident development of cardio-metabolic risk factors in a biomedical cohort

Catherine Paquet, Neil T. Coffee, Matthew T. Haren, Natasha J. Howard, Robert J. Adams, Anne W. Taylor, Mark Daniel

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    128 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We investigated whether residential environment characteristics related to food (unhealthful/healthful food sources ratio), walkability and public open spaces (POS; number, median size, greenness and type) were associated with incidence of four cardio-metabolic risk factors (pre-diabetes/diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, abdominal obesity) in a biomedical cohort (n=3205). Results revealed that the risk of developing pre-diabetes/diabetes was lower for participants in areas with larger POS and greater walkability. Incident abdominal obesity was positively associated with the unhealthful food environment index. No associations were found with hypertension or dyslipidaemia. Results provide new evidence for specific, prospective associations between the built environment and cardio-metabolic risk factors.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)173-176
    Number of pages4
    JournalHealth and Place
    Volume28
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished or Issued - Jul 2014

    Keywords

    • Food environment
    • Longitudinal studies
    • Public open space
    • Residence characteristics
    • Walkability

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Health(social science)
    • Sociology and Political Science
    • Life-span and Life-course Studies

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