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

• Published in: International Journal of Obesity 2005-02, Vol.29 (2), p.170-175
• Main Authors: Timperio, A, Salmon, J, Telford, A, Crawford, D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitude; Biological and medical sciences; Body Height; Body Weight; Child; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Cross-Sectional Studies; Environment; Epidemiology; Exercise; Families & family life; Female; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Motor Vehicles; Neighborhoods; Nutrition research; Obesity; Obesity - etiology; Overweight; Parenting; Parents & parenting; Parks & recreation areas; Perceptions; Physical fitness; Polls & surveys; Public Health; Public transportation; Residence Characteristics; Risk Factors; Roads; Social Class; Sociodemographics; Traffic accidents & safety; Weight control
• ISSN: 0307-0565; 1476-5497
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0802865

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.