The association between social cohesion in the neighborhood and body mass index (BMI): An examination of gendered differences among urban-dwelling Canadians.
Prev Med
; 99: 293-298, 2017 Jun.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28232099
ABSTRACT
Overweight and obesity are major global public health concerns. Obesity is multifactorial in origin and influenced by genetics, psychosocial factors, eating and physical activity behaviors, as well as the environment. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of social cohesion on gender differences in body mass index (BMI) for urban-dwelling Canadians. Cross-sectional data were used from the Neighborhood Effects on Health and Well-being Study (NEHW) in Toronto, Canada (n=2300). Our main outcome, BMI, was calculated from self-reported height and weight (weight (kg)/height (m)2). Using multi-level logistic regression models, we identified a significant interaction between social cohesion and gender on being overweight/obese. Women with higher social cohesion had slightly lower odds of being overweight/obese (OR 0.96, 95%CI 0.94 to 0.99) compared to men, after adjusting for other sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, income, education), and neighborhood characteristics (e.g., walkability, neighborhood safety and material deprivation). Future public health research and interventions should consider the differential mechanisms involved in overweight/obesity by gender. The exact mechanisms behind how the social environment influences these pathways are still unclear and require future research.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Meio Social
/
População Urbana
/
Índice de Massa Corporal
/
Características de Residência
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article