Can a neighborhood be “obesogenic”? Yes, suggest researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle. According to their study, living in neighborhoods with lower property values may impact whether or not residents are likely to be overweight and obese.
For their study, the researchers used data from the Seattle Obesity Study of 2,001 adults in King County, Washington. The survey asked people 11 questions about their neighborhood, including whether they felt safe, whether the neighborhood was clean and well lit, whether traffic was a problem, and whether neighbors knew and trusted one another.
Having a fast-food restaurant within a 10-minute walk lowered property values by $50,000. Being within 10 minutes of a park boosted property values by an average $30,000. Neighborhoods with higher property values (P < .001) were perceived as safe, quiet, clean, and attractive, with parks, playing fields, and full-service restaurants within walking distance. Seven of the perceived environmental measures were significantly associated with body mass index (BMI), especially for women, the researchers found. These included feeling safe, trusting neighbors, and lower neighborhood diversity, but not traffic or perceiving the neighborhood as clean and attractive.
Neighborhoods with lower property values were also often obesogenic communities: Residents who reported living with crime, heavy traffic, bars, liquor stores, and fast food, had BMIs of about 27 on average, compared with 23.9 for women and 26.4 for men in the highest-valued neighborhoods.
But the amenities people value in their neighborhoods can vary. In New York, New York, and Seattle, Washington, for instance, having a park nearby was associated with higher property values. In Detroit, Michigan, having a supermarket nearby was more valued. Those kinds of independent variables can help explain inconsistent associations between environmental measures and BMI, the researchers say. Sometimes having fast food nearby is linked to obesity, sometimes not. Parks are not always linked to lower BMIs, either.
Establishing links between multiple measures of the environment, activity levels, and obesity rates is a “continuing challenge,” the researchers acknowledge. But they feel using property values as a marker is a new “wealth metric” that may offer a way to resolve the complexity. Because real estate stays put and people do not, the researchers suggest that property value is an effective way to sort the population by material resources and socioeconomic status.
Source
Drewnowski A, Aggarwal A, Rehm CD, Cohen-Cline H, Hurvitz PM, Moudon AV. Am J Prev Med. 2014;47(3):260-274.
doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.05.006.