Neighborhood Effects on Obesity in the Elderly

Objective: To analyze the effect of the neighborhood environment on the prevalence of overweight and obese status among the near-elderly and elderly. Methods: The Health and Retirement Study followed a nationally representative sample of adults ages 55 and older. We merged individual level data to census tract and county level data on (a) economic advantage and disadvantage, (b) crime and segregation, (c) immigration concentration, (d) street connectivity, (e) density of food stores, restaurants, and housing (f) residential stability (represented by the percentage of the residents living in the same house at least for five years and by the median number of years in residence), and (g) air pollution. We analyzed the effect of these neighborhood factors on the likelihood of being obese or overweight using two-level logistic random-intercept models. We controlled for age, race, ethnicity, education, marital status, non-housing assets, and income. Results: Preliminary findings demonstrate that living in an economically advantageous neighborhood is associated with a lower likelihood of being obese or overweight for both men and women (OR=0.82-0.89). We also find that living in a residentially stable neighborhood is associated with a higher risk of being obese or overweight for women (OR=1.07). There were no significant effects for economic disadvantage, crime and segregation, immigration concentration, street connectivity, density of food stores, restaurants, and housing, and air pollution. Discussion: The results of this study demonstrate the importance of the neighborhood environment for weight status of elderly and near-elderly. Additional studies are needed to clarify underlying mechanism behind this association.