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Perceptions of local neighbourhood environments and their relationship to childhood overweight and obesity

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To examine associations between parent and child perceptions of the local neighbourhood and overweight/obesity among children aged 5–6 and 10–12 y.

DESIGN:

Cross-sectional survey.

SUBJECTS:

In total, 291 families of 5–6-y-old and 919 families of 10–12-y-old children.

MEASURES:

Parent's perceptions of local neighbourhood and perceived child access to eight local destinations within walking distance of home; 10–12-y-old children's perception of local neighbourhood; socio-demographic characteristics (survey). Children's height and weight (measured).

RESULTS:

No perceptions of the local neighbourhood were associated with weight status among 5–6-y-old children. Among 10–12-y-old children, those whose parents agreed that there was heavy traffic in their local streets were more likely to be overweight or obese (OR=1.4, 95% CI=1.0–1.8), and those whose parents agreed that road safety was a concern were more likely to be obese (OR=3.9, 95% CI=1.0–15.2), compared to those whose parents disagreed with these statements.

CONCLUSIONS:

This study suggests that parental perceptions of heavy traffic on local streets and concern about road safety may be indirect influences on overweight and obesity among 10–12-y-old children. Future work should also consider perceptions of the neighbourhood related to food choice.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Financial Markets Foundation for Children. David Crawford is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council/National Heart Foundation Career Development Award. Jo Salmon is supported by a Public Health Research Fellowship from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation.

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Correspondence to A Timperio.

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Timperio, A., Salmon, J., Telford, A. et al. Perceptions of local neighbourhood environments and their relationship to childhood overweight and obesity. Int J Obes 29, 170–175 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802865

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