Childhood body mass index in community context: neighborhood safety, television viewing, and growth trajectories of BMI.

Full Abstract

The United States is currently experiencing an epidemic of children who are overweight or obese. Recently, research on child obesity has begun to examine the relationship between neighborhood environments and the health behaviors of youths. The current study used growth curve analysis based on multilevel modeling to examine the relationship between parents' perceptions of neighborhood safety and children's body mass index (BMI). Parents' perceptions of neighborhood safety had a significant association with children's BMI, and this relationship was fully mediated by television viewing. The results of this study suggest that when parents perceive their neighborhood to be unsafe, they will restrict their children's outdoor activities and increase the likelihood of sedentary indoor activity. Policies aimed at reducing overweight and obesity in children should take into account the neighborhood contexts in which children live.

Author information

Author/s: Cecil-Karb, Rebecca (R); Grogan-Kaylor, Andrew (A);

Affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Health & social work (Health Soc Work), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Aug; vol 34 (issue 3) : pp 169-77

Dates: Created 2009/09/04; Completed 2009/10/06;

PMID: 19728476, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/6/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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