Abstract
There is evidence that the built environment can promote unhealthy habits which may increase the risk for obesity among adolescents. However, the majority of evidence is from North America, Europe and Australia, and less is known about other world regions. The purpose of this study was to examine how the number of overweight and obese adolescents may vary in relation to the built environment, area socioeconomic status (SES), physical activity (PA) and nutritional home environment. We performed a telephone survey of 904 adolescents ages 15–18 from three different cities in Israel. The questionnaire included: reported PA, sedentary behaviors and nutritional home environment. Body Mass Index (BMI) was attained from records of Maccabi Healthcare Services (MHS). The built environment measures were calculated by Geographic Information System (GIS). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify variables associated with adolescents’ overweight and obesity. The highest level of overweight and obese adolescents was in Beer Sheva (29.2%). The three cities did not differ in built environment characteristics, PA and sedentary behaviors. In Haifa, a more positive nutritional home environment was reported (p = 0.001). Boys, in all three cities presented higher rates of overweight and obesity (29%). After adjusting for covariates, adolescents’ overweight and obesity was associated with built environment measures only in a low SES peripheral city (OR = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.56–0.92), and positively associated with higher level of sedentary behavior in the total sample (OR = 1.23; 95% CI:1.03–1.47). This may imply a much more complex causal pathway between the built environment, SES and obesity than suggested in previous literature.
Highlights
We found no significant association between Body Mass Index (BMI) and objective built environment attributes and self-reported behavior (PA and sedentary behavior) in the total sample, and in Haifa and Rishon LeZion
This study examined the relationship between adolescents’ BMI and the built environment and self-reported health behaviors in a diverse sample, including three cities representing different geographical regions, socioeconomic status (SES) and natural conditions
The relationships between the built environment, physical activity (PA) and BMI, manifested differently in each city, with Beer Sheva demonstrating different patters compared to the other two cities. It seems that in the low SES city, the built environment may be associated with overweight and obesity
Summary
Adolescents’ obesity has become a worldwide epidemic [1] and was described by the World. Health Organization (WHO) as one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century [2]. Obesity has been associated with unhealthy lifestyle, education, income and environmental factors [3,4]. Childhood and adolescence obesity has increased world-wide in the last 40 years with the number of children aged 5–19 years with obesity rising from 11 million in 1975 to 124 million in 2016 This increase is especially high in low-middle income countries. Obesity rate remains very high even though it seems like it reached a plateau [5]. Similar trends are observed in Israel [6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
