Women living near restaurants tend to have a higher BMI, while those near supermarkets might enjoy a relatively lower BMI.
The study by scientists with the University at Buffalo iinvolved 172 participants and was published in the April issue of the
Journal of Planning Education and Research. The article is titled, “Food Environment, Built Environment and Women’s BMI: Evidence from Erie County, New York.”
The interaction of the food environment and the built environment in a neighborhood carries significant consequences for obesity. When the neighbourhood is dominated by restaurants, one could detect a net increase in BMI. Clearly a diverse land-use mix is beneficial for promoting physical activity, says Samina Raja, lead author and UB professor of urban and regional planning.
Hence future research on the built environment and health must take into account the role of the food environment on women’s health, and the study offers suggestions for how food environments may be improved using planning strategies.
Raja is a nationally regarded community-based scholar in the fields of food security planning and community health whose work supports and is supported by UB’s Civic Engagement and Public Policy research initiative.
She points out that more than one-third of U.S. adults were reported to be obese in 2006, with the prevalence of obesity slightly greater among women than men.
“The prevalence of obesity is a significant public health concern because it places individuals at a risk for a variety of diseases,” she says, “and the role of environmental factors in contributing to obesity has received a lot of attention. We have attempted here to explain the paradox of high BMI rates among women living in highly walkable inner city neighborhoods.
