Researchers investigating obesity and health have
begun to focus on neighborhood factors that may make it easier or harder
for people to eat healthy foods and be physically active. Some studies
discussed in this section focus on how development patterns and transportation
systems influence physical activity. For example, there is some evidence
that access to exercise facilities, high levels of neighborhood safety,
and living in compact and walkable neighborhoods may increase physical
activity. Several studies in this section address how neighborhood environments
affect eating behaviors. These studies have found that for African Americans,
the presence of supermarkets is associated with meeting dietary recommendations.
The presence of supermarkets was not associated with the diets of whites,
which may be related to greater access to private transportation and therefore
stores outside the immediate neighborhood.
The authors recommend changes in economic, land use, and transportation
policies to improve community conditions in ways that could increase
healthy diet and physical activity behaviors.
Burdette
HL, Whitaker RC. Neighborhood playgrounds, fast food restaurants, and crime:
relationships to overweight in low-income preschool children. Preventive
Medicine. 2004;38:57-63.
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. Neighborhood safety
and the prevalence
of physical inactivity-selected states. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report. 1999;38:143-146.
Evenson
KR, Sarmiento OL, Macon ML, Tawney KW, Ammerman AS. Environmental, policy,
and cultural factors related to physical activity among Latina immigrants. Women & Health. 2002;36:43-57.
Ewing
R, Schmid T, Killingsworth R, Zlot A, Raudenbush S. Relationship between
urban sprawl and physical activity, obesity, and morbidity. American
Journal of Health Promotion. 2003;18:47 -57.
Flournoy R, et al. Regional
development and physical activity: issues and strategies for promoting health
equity. Oakland: PolicyLink; 2002.
Frank LD, Engelke
P. How
land use and transportation systems impact public health: a literature review
of the relationship between physical activity and built form. ACES:
Active Community Environments Initiative Working Paper #1; 2000.
The Greenlining Institute.
Transportation options: links to better health. San Francisco: The Greenlining Institute; 2002.
Jackson RJ, Koschtitzky C.
Creating a healthy environment: the impact of the built environment
on public health. Washington, DC: Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse; 2001.
Morland
K, Wing S, Diez Roux A. The contextual effect of the local food environment
on residents' diets: the atherosclerosis risk in communities study. American
Journal of Public Health. 2002;92:1761-1767.
Morland
K, Wing S, Poole C. Neighborhood characteristics associated with the location
of food stores and food service places. American Journal of Preventive
Medicine. 2002;22:23-29.
Sallis
JF, Hovell MF, et al. Distance between homes and exercise facilities related
to frequency of exercise among San Diego residents. Public Health Reports. 1990;105:179-185.
Timpero
A, Crawford D, Telford A, Salmon J. Perceptions about the local neighborhood
and walking and cycling among children. Preventive Medicine. 2004;38:39-47.
Transportation and Land
Use Coalition (TALC), Center for Third World Organizing (CTWO), People
United
for a Better Oakland (PUEBLO). Roadblocks to Health: Transportation
Barriers to Healthy Communities. Oakland, CA: TALC; 2002.
Yen
IH, Kaplan GA. Poverty area residence and changes in physical activity level:
evidence from the Alameda County study. American Journal of Public Health. 1998;
88:1709-1712.
