The neighborhood social environment and body mass index among youth: a mediation analysis
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RESEARCH
Open Access
The neighborhood social environment and body mass index among youth: a mediation analysis Jenny Veitch1*, Maartje M van Stralen2, Mai JM Chinapaw2, Saskia J te Velde3, David Crawford1, Jo Salmon1 and Anna Timperio1
Abstract Background: This study aimed to examine associations between aspects of the neighborhood social environment and body mass index (BMI) in youth both cross-sectionally and prospectively; and whether this association was mediated by physical activity, screen-time and sedentary time. Methods: Data were collected in 2004 and 2006 in high and low socio-economic areas of Melbourne, Australia. In 2004, 185 children aged 8-9 years (47% boys) and 359 children aged 13-15 years (45% boys) participated. Parents reported their perceptions of aspects of the social environment (i.e. social networks and social trust/cohesion), and physical activity (i.e. time spent outdoors by their children; and their younger children’s walking and cycling trips) and screen-time (i.e. TV viewing, computer use). The older children self-reported their walking and cycling trips and their screen-time. All children wore an accelerometer to objectively assess outside-school hours moderate- tovigorous physical activity and sedentary time. BMI was calculated from height and weight measured in 2004 and 2006. Multilevel linear regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between the social environment and BMI. Mediation analyses using the products of coefficient method were conducted to determine whether associations between the social environment and BMI were mediated by the time spent in a range of physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Results: Cross-sectional and prospective regression analyses showed that a more positive social network and higher social trust/cohesion was related to lower BMI among children. There was no evidence that time spent in physical activity or sedentary behaviors mediated this relation, despite significant associations between social networks and screen-time and between screen-time and BMI. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the neighborhood social environment may be important for preventing overweight and obesity in children. Further research investigating the mechanisms through which the neighborhood social environment exerts its effect on BMI is needed. Keywords: Neighborhood, Social networks, Social cohesion, Youth, Physical activity, Sedentary behavior, Overweight, Mediation
Background Child and adolescent overweight and obesity represents a significant global public health burden, with a high and increasing prevalence in many developed countries, serious health consequences both during childhood and adolescence and in adulthood, and increased likelihood of remaining overweight and obese as adults [1,2]. * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, 3125, Australia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Prevention of overw
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