Urban sprawl, physical activity, and body mass index: Nurses' Health Study and Nurses' Health Study II.

View Abstract

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated the association between the county sprawl index, a measure of residential density and street accessibility, and physical activity and body mass index (BMI).

METHODS

We conducted a multilevel cross-sectional analysis in a sample of Nurses' Health Study participants living throughout the United States in 2000 to 2001 (n = 136 592).

RESULTS

In analyses adjusted for age, smoking status, race, and husband's education, a 1-SD (25.7) increase in the county sprawl index (indicating a denser, more compact county) was associated with a 0.13 kilograms per meters squared (95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.18, -0.07) lower BMI and 0.41 (95% CI = 0.17, 0.65) more metabolic equivalent (MET) hours per week of total physical activity, 0.26 (95% CI = 0.19, 0.33) more MET hours per week of walking, and 0.47 (95% CI = 0.34, 0.59) more MET hours per week of walking, bicycling, jogging, and running. We detected potential effect modification for age, previous disease status, husband's education level (a proxy for socioeconomic status), and race.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that living in a dense, compact county may be conducive to higher levels of physical activity and lower BMI in women.

Investigators
Abbreviation
Am J Public Health
Publication Date
2013-03-01
Volume
103
Issue
2
Page Numbers
369-75
Pubmed ID
22698015
Medium
Print-Electronic
Full Title
Urban sprawl, physical activity, and body mass index: Nurses' Health Study and Nurses' Health Study II.
Authors
James P, Troped PJ, Hart JE, Joshu CE, Colditz GA, Brownson RC, Ewing R, Laden F