Dataset Information

Increasing overweight and obesity erodes engagement in one's neighborhood by women, but not men.

ABSTRACT: Obesity is socially stigmatized in the U.S., especially for women. Significant research has focused on the role that the social and built environments of neighborhoods play in shaping obesity. However, the role of obesity in shaping neighborhood social structure has been largely overlooked. We test the hypothesis that large body size inhibits an individual's engagement in his or her neighborhood. Our study objectives are to assess if (1) body size (body mass index) interacts with gender to predict engagement in one's neighborhood (neighborhood engagement) and (2) if bonding social capital interacts with gender to predict neighborhood engagement independent of body size. We used data collected from the cross-sectional 2011 Phoenix Area Social Survey (PASS), which systematically sampled residents across four neighborhood types (core urban, urban fringe, suburban, retirement) across the Phoenix Metopolitian Area. Survey data was analyzed using logistic regression for 804 participants, including 35% for whom missing data was computed using multiple imputation. We found that as body size increases, women-but not men-have reduced engagement in their neighborhood, independent of bonding social capital and other key covariates (objective 1). We did not observe the interaction between gender and bonding social capital associated with neighborhood engagement (objective 2). Prior scholarship suggests obesity clusters in neighborhoods due to processes of social, economic, and environmental disadvantage. This finding suggests bi-directionality: obesity could, in turn, undermine neighborhood engagement through the mechanism of weight stigma and discrimination.

SUBMITTER: Schuster RC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5945908 | biostudies-other | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Increasing overweight and obesity erodes engagement in one's neighborhood by women, but not men.

Schuster Roseanne C RC Han Seung Yong SY Brewis Alexandra A AA Wutich Amber A

Preventive medicine reports 20180306

Obesity is socially stigmatized in the U.S., especially for women. Significant research has focused on the role that the social and built environments of neighborhoods play in shaping obesity. However, the role of obesity in shaping neighborhood social structure has been largely overlooked. We test the hypothesis that large body size inhibits an individual's engagement in his or her neighborhood. Our study objectives are to assess if (1) body size (body mass index) interacts with gender to predi ...[more]

PMID: 29755933

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Project description:Background and aims: Youth populations with overweight/obesity (OW/OB) exhibit heterogeneity in cardiometabolic health phenotypes (e.g. fasting glucose, serum triglycerides, etc.). The underling mechanisms for those differences are still unclear. This study aimed to analyze the whole blood transcriptome profile (RNA-seq) of children with metabolic healthy overweight/obesity (MHO) and metabolic unhealthy overweight/obesity (MUO) phenotypes. Methods: 27 children with OW/OB (10.14 ± 1.3 years, 59% boys) from the ActiveBrains project were included. MHO was defined as having none of the following criteria for metabolic syndrome: elevated fasting glucose, high serum triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high systolic or diastolic blood pressure, while MUO was defined as presenting one or more of these criteria. Inflammatory markers interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and, vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF) were additionally determined. Total-blood RNA was analyzed by 5’-end RNA sequencing. Two different bioinformatics approaches were performed: 1) Differential gene expression analyses using Limma R/Bioconductor software package (analyses adjusted by sex and maturational status) and 2) weighted gene coexpression network analyses (WGCNA). Results: Children with MHO had lower values of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 compared to MUO (p < 0.05). 40 genes were differentially expressed (FDR < 0.05) in children with MHO compared to MUO. WGCNA analysis identified 23 gene coexpression modules (i.e. clusters of genes) with low preservation (Zsummary < 2) in children with MHO compared to MUO. Differential and WGCNA gene expression patterns identified 32 genes linked to metabolism, mitochondrial and immune functions. Conclusions: Whole blood transcriptome analysis revealed a distinct pattern of gene expression in children with MHO compared to MUO children. The identified gene expression patterns related to metabolism, mitochondrial and immune functions can promote a better understanding of cardiovascular disease prognosis in individuals with MHO.

Dataset Information

Increasing overweight and obesity erodes engagement in one's neighborhood by women, but not men.

Publications

Increasing overweight and obesity erodes engagement in one's neighborhood by women, but not men.

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