Dataset Information

Improvement in food environments may help prevent childhood obesity: Evidence from a 9-year cohort study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Effects of food environments (FEs) on childhood obesity are mixed. OBJECTIVES:To examine the association of residential FEs with childhood obesity and variation of the association across gender and urbanicity. METHODS:We used the US Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort data, with 9440 kindergarteners followed up from 1998 to 2007. The Dun and Bradstreet commercial datasets in 1998 and 2007 were used to construct 12 FE measures of children, ie, changes in the food outlet mix and density of supermarkets, convenience stores, full-service restaurants, fast-food restaurants, retail bakery, dairy-product stores, health/dietetic food stores, confectionery stores, fruit/vegetable markets, meat/fish markets, and beverage stores. Two-level mixed-effect and cluster robust logistic regression models were fitted to examine associations. RESULTS:Decreased exposures to full-service restaurants, retail bakeries, fruit/vegetable markets, and beverage stores were generally obesogenic, while decreased exposure to dairy-product stores was generally obesoprotective; the magnitude and statistical significance of these associations varied by gender and urbanicity of residence. Higher obesity risk was associated with increased exposure to full-service restaurants among girls, and with decreased exposures to fruit/vegetable markets in urban children, to beverage stores in suburban children, and to health/dietetic food stores in rural children. Mixed findings existed between genders on the associations of fruit/vegetable markets with child weight status. CONCLUSION:In the United States, exposure to different FEs seemed to lead to different childhood obesity risks during 1998 to 2007; the association varied across gender and urbanicity. This study has important implications for future urban design and community-based interventions in fighting the obesity epidemic.

SUBMITTER: Wang Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6771845 | biostudies-other | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Improvement in food environments may help prevent childhood obesity: Evidence from a 9-year cohort study.

Wang Youfa Y Jia Peng P Cheng Xi X Xue Hong H

Pediatric obesity 20190531 10

<h4>Background</h4>Effects of food environments (FEs) on childhood obesity are mixed.<h4>Objectives</h4>To examine the association of residential FEs with childhood obesity and variation of the association across gender and urbanicity.<h4>Methods</h4>We used the US Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort data, with 9440 kindergarteners followed up from 1998 to 2007. The Dun and Bradstreet commercial datasets in 1998 and 2007 were used to construct 12 FE measures of children, ie, c ...[more]

PMID: 31148419

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:School neighborhood food environment is recognized as an important contributor to childhood obesity; however, large-scale and longitudinal studies remain limited. This study aimed to examine this association and its variation across gender and urbanicity at multiple geographic scales. METHODS:We used the US nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten cohort data and included 7530 kindergarteners followed up from 1998 to 2007. The Census, road network, and Dun and Bradstreet commercial datasets were used to construct time-varying measurements of 11 types of food outlet within 800-m straight-line and road-network buffer zones of schools and school ZIP codes, including supermarket, convenience store, full-service restaurant, fast-food restaurant, retail bakery, dairy product store, health/dietetic food store, candy store, fruit/vegetable market, meat/fish market, and beverage store. Two-level mixed-effect and cluster-robust logistic regression models were performed to examine the association. RESULTS:A higher body mass index (BMI) in 2007 was observed among children experiencing an increase of convenience stores in school neighborhoods during 1998-2007 (β = 0.39, p < 0.05), especially among girls (β = 0.50) and urban schoolchildren (β = 0.41), as well as among children with a decrease of dairy product stores (β = 0.39, p < 0.05), especially among boys (β = 1.86) and urban schoolchildren (β = 0.92). The higher obesity risk was associated with the increase of fast-food restaurants in urban schoolchildren (OR = 1.27 [95% CI = 1.02-1.59]) and of convenience stores in girls (OR = 1.41 [95% CI = 1.09-1.82]) and non-urban schoolchildren (OR = 1.60 [95% CI = 1.10-2.33]). The increase of full-service restaurants was related to lower obesity risk in boys (OR = 0.74 [95% CI = 0.57-0.95]). The decrease of dairy product stores was associated with the higher obesity risk (OR = 1.68 [95% CI = 1.07-2.65]), especially boys (OR = 2.92 [95% CI = 1.58-5.40]) and urban schoolchildren (OR = 1.67 [95% CI = 1.07-2.61]). The schoolchildren exposed to the decrease of meat/fish markets showed the lower obesity risk (OR = 0.57 [95% CI = 0.35-0.91]), especially urban schoolchildren (OR = 0.53 [95% CI = 0.32-0.87]). Results from analyses within 800-m straight-line buffer zones of schools were more consistent with our theory-based hypotheses than those from analyses within 800-m road-network buffer zones of schools and school ZIP codes. CONCLUSIONS:National data in the USA suggest that long-term exposure to the food environment around schools could affect childhood obesity risk; this association varied across gender and urbanicity. This study has important public health implications for future school-based dietary intervention design and urban planning.

Project description:Eviction affects a substantial share of U.S. children, but its effects on child health are largely unknown. Our objectives were to examine how eviction relates to 1) children's health and sociodemographic characteristics at birth, 2) neighborhood poverty and food security at age 5, and 3) obesity in later childhood and adolescence. We analyzed data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal cohort of children born in 20 large U.S. cities. Children who lived in rental housing with known eviction histories and measured outcomes were included. We compared maternal and infant health and sociodemographic characteristics at the time of the child's birth. We then characterized the associations between eviction and neighborhood poverty and food security at age 5 and obesity at ages 5, 9, and 15 using log binomial regression with inverse probability of treatment and censoring weights. Of the 2556 children included in objective 1, 164 (6%) experienced eviction before age 5. Children who experienced eviction had lower household income and maternal education and were more likely to be born to mothers who were unmarried, smoked during pregnancy, and had mental health problems. Evicted and non-evicted children were equally likely to experience high neighborhood poverty at age 5 (prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.03, 95% CI 0.82, 1.29) but had an increased prevalence of low food security (PR = 2.16, 95% CI 1.46, 3.19). Obesity prevalence did not differ at age 5 (PR = 1.01; 95% CI 0.58, 1.75), 9 (PR = 1.08; 95% CI 0.715, 1.55); or 15 (PR = 1.05; 95% CI 0.51, 2.18). In conclusion, children who went on to experience eviction showed signs of poor health and socioeconomic disadvantage already at birth. Eviction in early childhood was not associated with children's likelihood of neighborhood poverty, suggesting that eviction may not qualitatively change children's neighborhood conditions in this disadvantaged sample. Though we saw evidence supporting an association with low child food security at age 5, we did not find eviction to be associated with obesity in later childhood and adolescence.

Project description:BackgroundFood preparation behaviors may markedly determine dietary intake and consequently influence weight status. However, the few available studies have found equivocal results. No study has prospectively investigated the association between food preparation behaviors and weight change over time. We estimated the associations of food preparation behaviors with the 5-year relative weight change and the risk of developing obesity in 12,851 French adults participating in the NutriNet-Santé cohort study. The mediating effect of dietary intake was also addressed.MethodsFrequency and time for meal preparation, cooking skills, preparation from scratch, kitchen equipment, cooking enjoyment, willingness to cook better/more frequently and dietary intake were assessed at baseline using web-based questionnaire and 24 h records, respectively. Self-reported anthropometric data were collected using questionnaire, at baseline and after 5 years of follow-up. Associations of such behaviors with 5-year relative weight change and the mediation analyses were assessed through multivariate linear regression models, and obesity risk was analyzed with logistic regression, stratified by sex and adjusted for age, household composition, education, occupation, income, physical activity, smoking and history of dieting.ResultsIn women, preparation from scratch was prospectively associated with a decreased risk of obesity over the 5-year follow-up (OR = 1.32 (1.08; 2.32)) after adjustment. After including dietary mediating factors, the association between preparation from scratch and obesity risk in women did not remain significant (P = 0.08). This association appeared to be partly mediated by dietary factors with a difference of 59% of the estimate, in the group with the low score, between the adjusted model and those with mediators (OR = 1.13 (0.71; 1.77)). Regarding 5-year relative weight change, after adjustment for confounding factors, all associations between indicators of food preparation behaviors and weight change became non significant.ConclusionsIn the context from reduced time spent preparing meals that could have an impact on dietary quality and health in industrialized countries, our prospective study does not show effect of food preparation behaviors on 5-year relative weight change and obesity risk, except for preparation from scratch on obesity risk in women. Our study provides useful information about the long term implications of food preparation behaviors on health and should be corroborated by future studies, particularly on the effect of food preparation behaviors on chronic diseases such as incident diabetes, hypertension or cardiovascular diseases, compared with other determinants.Trial registrationNCT03335644 on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Project description:BackgroundStrategies to improve the community food environment have been recommended for addressing childhood obesity, but evidence substantiating their effectiveness is limited.ObjectiveOur aim was to examine the impact of changes in availability of key features of the community food environment, such as supermarkets, small grocery stores, convenience stores, upgraded convenience stores, pharmacies, and limited service restaurants, on changes in children's body mass index z scores (zBMIs).DesignWe conducted a longitudinal cohort study.Participants/settingTwo cohorts of 3- to 15-year-old children living in 4 low-income New Jersey cities were followed during 2- to 5-year periods from 2009 through 2017. Data on weight status were collected at 2 time points (T1 and T2) from each cohort; data on food outlets in the 4 cities and within a 1-mile buffer around each city were collected multiple times between T1 and T2.Main outcome measuresWe measured change in children's zBMIs between T1 and T2.Statistical analysisChanges in the food environment were conceptualized as exposure to changes in counts of food outlets across varying proximities (0.25 mile, 0.5 mile, and 1.0 mile) around a child's home, over different lengths of time a child was exposed to these changes before T2 (12 months, 18 months, and 24 months). Multivariate models examined patterns in relationships between changes in zBMI and changes in the food environment.ResultsIncreased zBMIs were observed in children with greater exposure to convenience stores over time, with a consistent pattern of significant associations across varying proximities and lengths of exposure. For example, exposure to an additional convenience store over 24 months within 1 mile of a child's home resulted in 11.7% higher odds (P = 0.007) of a child being in a higher zBMI change category at T2. Lower zBMIs were observed in children with increased exposure to small grocery stores selling an array of healthy items, with exposure to an additional small grocery store within 1 mile over 24 months, resulting in 37.3% lower odds (P < 0.05) of being in a higher zBMI change category at T2. No consistent patterns were observed for changes in exposure to supermarkets, limited service restaurants, or pharmacies.ConclusionsIncreased availability of small grocery stores near children's homes may improve children's weight status, whereas increased availability of convenience stores is likely to be detrimental.

Project description:BackgroundObesity and overweight have increased dramatically in the United States over the last decades. The complexity of interrelated causal factors that result in obesity needs to be addressed within the cultural dynamic of sub-populations. In this study, we sought to estimate the effects of a multifaceted, community-based intervention on body mass index (BMI) among Mexican-heritage children.MethodsNiños Sanos, Familia Sana (Healthy Children, Healthy Family) was a quasi-experimental intervention study designed to reduce the rate of BMI growth among Mexican-heritage children in California's Central Valley. Two rural communities were matched based on demographic and environmental characteristics and were assigned as the intervention or comparison community. The three-year intervention included parent workshops on nutrition and physical activity; school-based nutrition lessons and enhanced physical education program for children; and a monthly voucher for fruits and vegetables. Eligible children were between 3 and 8 years old at baseline. Intent-to-treat analyses were estimated using linear mixed-effect models with random intercepts. We ran a series of models for each gender where predictors were fixed except interactions between age groups and obesity status at baseline with intervention to determine the magnitude of impact on BMI.ResultsAt baseline, mean (SD) BMI z-score (zBMI) was 0.97 (0.98) in the intervention group (n = 387) and 0.98 (1.02) in the comparison group (n = 313) (NS). The intervention was significantly associated with log-transformed BMI (β = 0.04 (0.02), P = 0.03) and zBMI (β = 0.25 (0.12), P = 0.04) among boys and log-transformed BMI among obese girls (β = - 0.04 (0.02), P = 0.04). The intervention was significantly and inversely associated with BMI in obese boys and girls across all age groups and normal weight boys in the oldest group (over 6 years) relative to their counterparts in the comparison community.ConclusionsA community-based, multifaceted intervention was effective at slowing the rate of BMI growth among Mexican-heritage children. Our findings suggest that practitioners should consider strategies that address gender disparities and work with a variety of stakeholders to target childhood obesity.Trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01900613 . Registered 16th July 2013.

Dataset Information

Improvement in food environments may help prevent childhood obesity: Evidence from a 9-year cohort study.

Publications

Improvement in food environments may help prevent childhood obesity: Evidence from a 9-year cohort study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets