Abstract
Overweight/obesity represent a significant public health problem in Canada and abroad. The objective of this paper is to identify potential associations between overweight/obesity and individual as well as socio-environmental determinants. The data sources used are the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey and the Desktop Mapping Technologies Incorporated database. Geographical Information Systems are first employed to create neighbourhood-level variables such as neighbourhood walkability and fast food accessibility. Multivariate analysis is then applied to estimate the relative effects of individual- and neighbourhood-level risk-factors of overweight/obesity. Results demonstrate the important role of the built-environment after adjustment for demographic, socio-economic and behavioural characteristics. Findings support the rationale that reversing current trends will require a multifaceted public health approach where interventions are developed from the individual- to the neighbourhood-level, with a particular focus on altering obesogenic environments.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 389-98 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Health and Place |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2010 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Keywords
- Environment Design
- Obesity
- Humans
- British Columbia
- Overweight
- Body Mass Index
- Ontario
- Socioeconomic Factors
- Adult
- Middle Aged
- Residence Characteristics
- Female
- Male
- Social Environment
- Prevalence