Research

Adherence

Living in low socioeconomic neighbourhoods is associated with higher body mass index (BMI) compared to high socioeconomic neighbourhoods, independent of individual-level factors.

If you live in a low-income area, your higher BMI risk may be driven by your environment, not just your choices. Focus on what you can control: nutrition knowledge and seeking out resources, but recognize that structural changes (like better store access) are needed for long-term community health.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
adults who lived in low socioeconomic neighbourhoods had a higher mean BMI than adults who lived in high socioeconomic neighbourhoods
May C Wang et al. · Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health · 2007

Why this rating

Observational, cross-sectional study with large sample size but potential for residual confounding and lack of causal inference.

Source

Socioeconomic and food-related physical characteristics of the neighbourhood environment are associated with body mass index

May C Wang et al. · Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health · 2007

DOI 10.1136/jech.2006.051680

cross_sectional · n=7595Cited 371×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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