The Importance of Pedestrian Network Connectivity for Adolescent Health: A Cross-sectional Examination of Associations between Neighbourhood Built Environments and Metabolic Health in the Pacific Islands Families Birth Cohort Study

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2019-09, Vol.16 (18), p.3375
• Main Authors: Smith, Melody, Obolonkin, Vlad, Plank, Lindsay, Iusitini, Leon, Forsyth, Euan, Stewart, Tom, Paterson, Janis, Tautolo, El-Shadan, Savila, Fa'asisila, Rush, Elaine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accelerometers; Adolescent; Adolescent Health - statistics & numerical data; Adults; Blood pressure; Body composition; Body fat; Body mass; Body mass index; Body size; Built Environment - statistics & numerical data; C-reactive protein; Child development; Children & youth; Childrens health; Cohort analysis; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Energy Metabolism; Ethnicity; Exercise; Female; Global positioning systems; GPS; Health Status; Hemoglobin; High density lipoprotein; Humans; Lipids; Male; Metabolic syndrome; New Zealand; Pacific Islands - ethnology; Pedestrians - statistics & numerical data; Physical activity; Population density; Risk Factors; Sedentary Behavior; Teenagers; Triglycerides; Urban areas; Urban environments; Walking
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16183375

The research aim was to investigate associations between objectively-assessed built environment attributes and metabolic risk in adolescents of Pacific Islands ethnicity, and to consider the possible mediating effect of physical activity and sedentary time. Youth ( = 204) undertook a suite of physical assessments including body composition, blood sampling, and blood pressure measurements, and seven day accelerometry. Objective measures of the neighbourhood built environment were generated around individual addresses. Logistic regression and linear modelling were used to assess associations between environment measures and metabolic health, accounting for physical activity behaviours. Higher pedestrian connectivity was associated with an increase in the chance of having any International Diabetes Federation metabolic risk factors for males only. Pedestrian connectivity was related to fat free mass in males in unadjusted analyses only. This study provides evidence for the importance of pedestrian network connectivity for health in adolescent males. Future research is required to expand the limited evidence in neighbourhood environments and adolescent metabolic health.