Public Health

Abstract P298: An Obesogenic Neighborhood Environment Factor Score and Changes in BMI in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study

Meyer, KA
Duffey, KJ
Rodriguez, DA
Lewis, CE
Kiefe, CI
2013
We sought to identify obesogenic elements of the neighborhood environment using 15 years of individual-level and GIS-derived data in the CARDIA cohort (n=5,115; aged 18-30 at year 0, 1985/86), and to test associations with 15-year BMI change. We first used reduced rank regression (RRR) to derive a weighted combination (factor score) of environmental variables that explained variability in obesity-promoting diet and physical activity (PA) behaviors. RRR outcome variables were diet quality, fast food consumption, and PA; predictors of these behaviors were neighborhood-level indicators of...

Potential for Increasing Health-Beneficial Participation in Cycling for Transportation: A “Stages of Change” Perspective on Barcelona’s Bike Sharing Program

Nazelle, A De
Curto, A
Donaire-Gonzalez, D
Mendez, MA
2013
The multiple benefits of active transportation, from non-communicable disease prevention to climate change mitigation, have led to increasing interests in developing multi-disciplinary health impact assessments (HIA) of walking and cycling strategies. However a fundamental uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of policies to change travel and physical activity behaviour remains. Our study aimed to assess the ability of bike sharing programs to facilitate contemplation and change in individuals to begin cycling for travel purposes. Methods: Participants living and working or attending school...

Validity of Secondary Retail Food Outlet Data: A Systematic Review

Fleischhacker, SE
Evenson, KR
Sharkey, J
Pitts, SBJ
Rodriguez, DA
2013

Improving access to healthy foods is a promising strategy to prevent nutrition-related chronic diseases. To characterize retail food environments and identify areas with limited retail access, researchers, government programs, and community advocates have primarily used secondary retail food outlet data sources (e.g., InfoUSA or government food registries). To advance the state of the...

Change in Walking and Body Mass Index Following Residential Relocation: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Hirsch, JA
Roux, AV Diez
Moore, KA
Evenson, KR
Rodriguez, DA
2014

We investigated whether moving to neighborhoods with closer proximity of destinations and greater street connectivity was associated with more walking, a greater probability of meeting the “Every Body Walk!” campaign goals (≥ 150 minutes/week of walking), and reductions in body mass index (BMI). We linked longitudinal data from 701 participants, who moved between 2 waves of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (2004–2012), to a neighborhood walkability measure (Street Smart Walk Score) for each residential location. We used fixed-effects models to estimate if changes in walkability...

Energy Balance in Adolescent Girls: The Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls Cohort

Cohen, DA
Ghosh‐Dastidar, B
Conway, TL
Evenson, KR
Rodriguez, DA
Beckman, R
Elder, JP
Pickrel, J
Lytle, L
2013

To study correlates of change in BMI percentile and body fat among adolescent girls. A longitudinal prospective study following 265 girls from the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG) cohort measured in 8th grade and during 10 and 11th grade or 11th and 12th grade. Twice during 2009-2011 girls wore an accelerometer and completed a food frequency questionnaire and 7-day diary documenting trips and food eaten away from home and school. Physical activity, BMI, and percent body fat were objectively measured at each time point. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) declined,...

Built Environment Change and Change in BMI and Waist Circumference: Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Hirsch, JA
Moore, K
Barrientos‐Gutierrez, T
Brines, SJ
Zagorski, MA
Rodriguez, D
Roux, AV Diez
2014

To examine longitudinal associations of the neighborhood built environment with objectively measured body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in a geographically and racial/ethnically diverse group of adults. This study used data from 5,506 adult participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, aged 45-84 years in 2000 (baseline). BMI and WC were assessed at baseline and four follow-up visits (median follow-up 9.1 years). Time-varying built environment measures (population density, land-use, destinations, bus access, and street characteristics) were created using...

The Effects of Urban Form on Ambient Air Pollution and Public Health Risk: A Case Study in Raleigh, North Carolina

Mansfield, TJ
Rodriguez, DA
Huegy, J
Gibson, JMD
2014

Since motor vehicles are a major air pollution source, urban designs that decrease private automobile use could improve air quality and decrease air pollution health risks. Yet, the relationships among urban form, air quality, and health are complex and not fully understood. To explore these relationships, we model the effects of three alternative development scenarios on annual average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in ambient air and associated health risks from PM2.5 exposure in North Carolina's Raleigh-Durham-...

Modeling Spatial Segregation and Travel Cost Influences on Utilitarian Walking: Towards Policy Intervention

Yang, Y
Auchincloss, AH
Rodriguez, DA
Brown, DG
Riolo, R
Roux, A
2015

We develop an agent-based model of utilitarian walking and use the model to explore spatial and socio-economic factors affecting adult utilitarian walking and how travel costs as well as various educational interventions aimed at changing attitudes can alter the prevalence of walking and income differentials in walking. The model is validated against US national data. We contrast realistic and extreme parameter values in our model and test effects of changing these parameters across various segregation and pricing scenarios while allowing for interactions between travel choice and...

Combined Measure of Neighborhood Food and Physical Activity Environments and Weight-Related Outcomes: The CARDIA Study

Meyer, K
Boone-Heinonen, J
Duffey, KJ
Rodriguez, D
Kiefe, CI
Lewis, C
Gordon-Larsen, P
2015

Engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviors likely reflects access to a diverse and synergistic set of food and physical activity resources, yet most research examines discrete characteristics. We characterized neighborhoods with respect to their composition of features, and quantified associations with diet, physical activity (PA), body mass index (BMI), and insulin resistance (IR) in a longitudinal biracial cohort (n=4143; aged 25–37; 1992–2006). We used latent class analysis to derive population-density-specific (<vs.≥1750 people per sq...

A42 Transportation, Air Pollution and Physical ActivitieS (TAPAS): A Comprehensive Research Programme on Active Travel

Nazelle, A De
Rojas-Rueda, D
Jerrett, M
Rodriguez, D
Cole-Hunter, T
Donaire, D
Andersen, Z
Nieuwenhuijsen, MJ
2015
Encouraging walking and cycling as means of transportation may have diverse benefits, such as reduced pollutant emissions and increased physical activity in the population. At the same time, individuals who shift to active travel modes may also experience increased risks of traffic...