Do components of the built food environment influence body mass index (BMI) of residents

Introduction. Scholars increasingly connect obesity to changes in the built environment, theoretically because opportunities for utilitarian physical activity decrease as urban sprawl increases. However, studies have also identified lower income areas and non-white areas as having more overweight and different kinds of store placement. Associations between sprawl, area demographics (SES), and food outlets may covary, and in some cases be contradictory. Thus, the aim of this paper is to identify which components of the built food environment influence individual body mass index, after controlling for sprawl and area SES, as well as individual factors.

Methods. Individual- and census tract-level data from California are used to create hierarchical linear models that explain variation of bodyweight. Data from individuals (BMI and demographics) come from the 2005 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). Census tract data (land use and SES) are compiled from the US Census and a market research database of all retail food outlets in California. Data are only included for census tracts with CHIS sample sizes over 30.

Results. Using hierarchical models, in this case, focuses results on the statistical explanation of the main effects of the urban environment variables on BMI measures across census tracts.

Discussion. This paper explains the role of the food environment to overweight in consideration of sprawl. Ultimately, this paper contributes to community-level, rather than individual-level explanations overweight.

Environmental data were provided by the Cancer Prevention and Nutrition Section, California Department of Public Health, funded by the USDA Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program.