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Preschool obesity linked to safety of neighborhood, distance to parks
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WASHINGTON — A child’s risk for developing obesity could depend on the safety of their neighborhood and distance to parks, according to research presented at the 2013 Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting,
“A child’s neighborhood is a potentially modifiable risk factor for obesity that we can target in order to stop the increasing prevalence of obesity in young children,” Julia B. Morinis, MD, MSc, a pediatrician at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, said in a press release.
Morinis and colleagues conducted a study using the TARGetKids! (The Applied Research Group for Kids) Canadian research collaboration aimed at determining early risk factors for subsequent health problems. They included data from the collaboration on 3,928 children aged 0 to 5 years in Toronto.
According to data, 21% of the patients were overweight, 5% were obese, and higher rates of overweight and obesity were evident among children who lived in areas with fewer destinations within a safe walking distance (P=.001).
“How conducive a child’s neighborhood is to physical activity is related to a child’s BMI even after adjusting for factors we know are associated with obesity, including socioeconomic status, immigration, ethnicity, parental BMI, physical activity, age, gender and birth weight,” Morinis said in the press release.
The data warrant further research to determine the underlying mechanisms to develop proper interventions, according to researchers.
For more information:
Morinis JB. #1685.8. Presented at: Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting; May 4-7, 2013; Washington.