Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 May;106(5):934-40.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303096. Epub 2016 Mar 17.

Neighborhood Walkability and Body Mass Index Trajectories: Longitudinal Study of Canadians

Rania A Wasfi  1 , Kaberi Dasgupta  1 , Heather Orpana  1 , Nancy A Ross  1
Affiliations

Neighborhood Walkability and Body Mass Index Trajectories: Longitudinal Study of Canadians

Rania A Wasfi et al. Am J Public Health. 2016 May.

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the impact of neighborhood walkability on body mass index (BMI) trajectories of urban Canadians.

Methods: Data are from Canada's National Population Health Survey (n = 2935; biannual assessments 1994-2006). We measured walkability with the Walk Score. We modeled body mass index (BMI, defined as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters [kg/m(2)]) trajectories as a function of Walk Score and sociodemographic and behavioral covariates with growth curve models and fixed-effects regression models.

Results: In men, BMI increased annually by an average of 0.13 kg/m(2) (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.11, 0.14) over the 12 years of follow-up. Moving to a high-walkable neighborhood (2 or more Walk Score quartiles higher) decreased BMI trajectories for men by approximately 1 kg/m(2) (95% CI = -1.16, -0.17). Moving to a low-walkable neighborhood increased BMI for men by approximately 0.45 kg/m(2) (95% CI = 0.01, 0.89). There was no detectable influence of neighborhood walkability on body weight for women.

Conclusions: Our study of a large sample of urban Canadians followed for 12 years confirms that neighborhood walkability influences BMI trajectories for men, and may be influential in curtailing male age-related weight gain.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Deriving the Analytical Sample: National Population Health Survey, Canada, 1994
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
Predicted Body Mass Index Trajectories for Men by Walk Score Quartile, Nonmovers and Movers: National Population Health Survey, Canada, 1994–2006
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Huot I, Paradis G, Ledoux M. Factors associated with overweight and obesity in Quebec adults. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004;28(6):766–774. - PubMed
    1. Katzmarzyk PT, Ardern C. Overweight and obesity mortality trends in Canada, 1985–2005. Can J Public Health. 2004;95(1):16–20. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Canadian Socioeconomic Database From Statistics Canada. Table 105–0501: Body mass index, overweight or obese, self-reported, adult, by sex, provinces and territories (percent). Statistics Canada; 2015. Available at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/health82b-eng.... Accessed July 14, 2015.
    1. Jakicic JM, Gallagher K. Exercise considerations for the sedentary, overweight adult. Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2003;31(2):91–95. - PubMed
    1. Lee IM, Skerrett P. Physical activity and all-cause mortality: what is the dose–response relation? Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2001;33(6 suppl):S459–S471. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources

  NODES
Association 6
INTERN 2
twitter 2