The associations between neighborhood constructs, physical activity, and childhood obesity: Understanding race and income disparities

ABSTRACT

Scholars suggest that children’s built and social environments play key roles in their physical activity (PA) levels and subsequent propensity toward obesity. This study examines the associations between neighborhood constructs and the race and income disparities in PA and health among children ages 10–17 years in the United States. Using the 2011–2012 National Survey of Children’s Health and a series of logistic and ordinary least squares regressions, this study compares obesity and PA levels of Black, Hispanic, and low-income children with their White and more affluent counterparts, interacting demographic and neighborhood characteristics with one another. Findings reveal that non-White respondents report having more amenities and more detractions; low-income respondents report having fewer amenities and more detractions; and non-White and low-income respondents report having less social cohesion. Additionally, though amenities and cohesion improve PA and health and detractions have the reverse effect, these effects are opposite for Black, Hispanic, and low-income children. Black children with more cohesion and Hispanic children with more amenities and fewer detractions have greater odds of being obese. Findings underscore the need for improved physical and social environments in non-White and low-income communities, as well as targeted initiatives to educate parents and children on obesity and healthful activities.

Acknowledgments

This article was presented at the 2015 Urban Affairs Association Conference in Miami, Florida. I am grateful to the anonymous referees for their valuable comments. I am also grateful to Greg Lewis, Obed Pasha, Komla Dzigbede, Christian King, Min Su, and Jasmine McGinnis for generously giving of their time and expertise. This research would not have been possible without the data set access granted by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Notes

1. The built environment is any aspect of the physical environment that is created or modified by humans; for example, parks.

2. The social environment represents the intangible, communal components/constructs of a neighborhood; for example, trust.

3. A variety of characteristics of neighborhoods were used to determine neighborhood score. The lowest scores corresponded to the most disadvantaged neighborhoods. The six variables used in the construction of the neighborhood score were selected on the basis of factor analyses of data from census block groups: income/wealth (log of the median household income; log of the median value of housing units; the percentage of households receiving interest, dividend, or net rental income); education (the percentage of adults 25 years of age or older who had completed high school and the percentage of adults 25 years of age or older who had completed college); and occupation (the percentage of employed persons 16 years of age or older in executive, managerial, or professional specialty occupations).

4. For ages 2–19 years, BMI is plotted on the CDC (2015) growth charts to determine the corresponding BMI-for-age percentile. Overweight is defined as a BMI at or above the 85th percentile and lower than the 95th percentile. Obesity is defined as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex.

5. Unfortunately, it is impossible to know whether the “other built facilities” can increase physical activity among children because it is impossible to determine what respondents were thinking when they answered the question.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kelechi Uzochukwu

Kelechi Uzochukwu is Assistant Professor at the School of Public and International Affairs, College of Public Affairs, University of Baltimore. Her research focuses on enhancing the quality of life for distressed populations, both domestically and abroad. Her specific research interests are situated in the fields of planning, community development, and citizen participation. She enjoys teaching statistics, research methods, public policy, and urban planning. Educated as a civil and environmental engineer, she worked as the State Safe Routes to School Program Coordinator at the Georgia Department of Transportation. She has also worked as a community and economic development researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, as a program consultant for other federal agencies, as well as a researcher and administrator at the Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership. This is Dr. Uzochukwu’s first publication in the Journal of Urban Affairs.