Understanding landscapes of risk: Neighborhood effects on physical activity, diet, & metabolic health among Latino/a youth in the Los Angeles area

This presentation will describe the methods for a new study on the effects of neighborhood built and social environments on metabolic risk among Latino/a youth in the Los Angeles area. This secondary data analysis will incorporate metabolic, anthropometric, behavioral, and socio-demographic data from subjects enrolled in participating studies at the USC Childhood Obesity Research Center. We will combine and layer these data onto an existing built environments database from the Childrens' Health Study. Our 3 research aims, designed to assess the impact of food environment and opportunities for physical activity on outcomes in insulin resistance and accrual of visceral fat, are 1) a cross-sectional analysis of subjects with complete baseline measures on insulin sensitivity and visceral fat, 2) mediational analysis on a sub-sample with measures for diet and/or physical activity, 3) a longitudinal analysis for subjects with at least 3 waves of insulin visceral fat measures.