Content
Understanding social and environmental factors, such as public parks, that influence physical activity is essential to designing interventions to improving public health. But what role does socioeconomic status play?
Blog
We know that the obesity epidemic is a serious public health concern. What's less clear, however, is how our surroundings fit into the equation.
Journal Article
Studies have reported relationships between urban sprawl, physical activity, and obesity, but – to date – no studies have considered the relationship between sprawl and coronary heart disease (CHD) endpoints.
Journal Article
The presence of food outlets near home is not associated with dietary intake or BMI. In general, shopping patterns are weakly related, if at all, to neighborhoods, perhaps because of easy access to cars.
Journal Article
Recent debate about the role of food deserts in the United States has prompted discussion on policies being enacted, including efforts that encourage the placement of full-service supermarkets into food deserts.
Project
M-TEENS, the Military Teenagers' Environments, Exercise, and Nutrition Study, will examine how military adolescents' schools and neighborhoods influence their physical activity, eating behaviors, and more.
Journal Article
Community health centers (CHCs) play a critical role in the primary care safety net.
Report
This report explores how neighborhood theory and social indicators research shed light on quality of life in and around military bases, gaps in the methodology, and how a more in-depth analysis of military installations could be conducted.
Journal Article
There is a relationship between the percentage of outdoor food advertising and overweight/obesity.
Journal Article
The finding that park programming is the most important correlate of park use and park-based physical activity suggests that there are opportunities for facilitating physical activity among populations of both high- and low-poverty areas.
Journal Article
The authors' findings support restricting the development of fast-food outlets and attracting grocery stores, and are committed to additional research that overcomes the limitations of large studies.
Commentary
In an era of budget constraints, policymakers confronting the U.S. obesity crisis need strong evidence from projects like PHRESH to inform decisions about where and how to invest, writes Tamara Dubowitz.
Journal Article
NSES is significantly associated with CHD risk, and the relationship varies by gender and race/ethnicity.
Journal Article
To the extent that there is an association between food environment and youth obesity, the existence of more types of food outlets in an area, including supermarkets, is associated with higher BMI.
Commentary
We will be more successful at stemming the growing tide of obesity and improving our own health if everyone accepts their share of responsibility for the obesity epidemic, write Chloe E. Bird and Tamara Dubowitz.
Journal Article
Parks provide numerous opportunities for physical activity (PA). Previous studies have evaluated parks' physical features, but few have assessed how park staff influence PA.
Project
PHRESH Plus explores whether making parks, playgrounds, and trails—“green space”—safer and more accessible could impact the health neighborhood residents.
Journal Article
Post menopausal women living in neighborhoods with higher socioeconomic status and more supermarkets have lower body mass and lower blood pressure.
Journal Article
Outdoor exercise equipment in parks seems to attract more new park users and result in a higher expenditure of energy.
Journal Article
The Affordable Care Act marks a new era in US health care and US medicine. This commentary suggests ways to monitor the act's effect on the health of the US population.
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