Built and Social Environment Exposures association with Obesity in Kaunas Citizens’

Abstract

Background and aim: The evidence for social and environmental factors that contribute to obesity are often underappreciated. This Citizen science study examined the relationship between built and social environment exposures and obesity in men and women. Methods: The cross-sectional study included 1071 18-74-year-old Kaunas citizens. Using GIS, we measured the surrounding greenness exposure level of each home address as NDVI for the participants’ home addresses. We used questionnaires to determine participants’ social factors, physical activity, and environmental quality perception and linked this information with personal data of anthropometric measurements of height and weight. The health outcome was participants body mass index (BMI): normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m2), overweight (BMI> or = 25 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI > or =30.00 kg/m2). We used multivariate logistic regression to assess the associations between environmental issues and BMI in men and women. Results: 578 women and 493 men with a mean baseline BMI of 24.71 (SD 4.71) kg/m2 and 26.14 (SD 3.92) kg/m2, respectively, were studied. Recommended physical activity was low in men and women (15.5% and 14.3%, respectively). The prevalence of obesity was significantly higher among men with lower education, the adjusted OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.02-3.09, while among women obesity was associated with part-time work (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.09-3.23) after adjusting for confounders. Green space-health associations were stronger for women than for men. Low surrounding greenness NDVI in the place of residence and irregular park visits tended to increase the risk for obesity in women. Conclusions: Our results suggest that improving the social environment and city green spaces might reduce health problems for all.