Adherence
The association between better neighborhood physical environments and lower BMI is partially mediated by healthier diet and higher physical activity levels.
Improving your neighborhood's walkability and food access works partly by making it easier to eat better and move more. If you can't change your neighborhood, you must consciously replicate these environmental cues (e.g., pre-planning meals, scheduling exercise) to achieve similar benefits.
Attenuation of these associations after adjustment for diet and physical activity suggests a mediating role of these behaviors.
Why this rating
Mediation analysis in cross-sectional data is prone to bias and cannot prove causality of the mediation pathway.
Source
Relation between Neighborhood Environments and Obesity in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Mahasin S. Mujahid et al. · American Journal of Epidemiology · 2008
DOI 10.1093/aje/kwn047
More from this paper
- Living in neighborhoods with better physical environments (defined by better walking environments and greater availability of healthy foods) is associated with lower body mass index, independent of individual-level socioeconomic factors.Moderate
- Better neighborhood social environments (safety, social cohesion, aesthetic quality) are not consistently associated with lower BMI, and in men, are associated with higher BMI.Limited
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
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