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Neighborhood Safety, Collective Efficacy, and Obesity in Women with Young Children
Author(s) -
Burdette Hillary L.,
Wadden Thomas A.,
Whitaker Robert C.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1038/oby.2006.67
Subject(s) - fragile families and child wellbeing study , collective efficacy , poverty , ethnic group , obesity , medicine , marital status , demography , household income , population , gerontology , psychology , environmental health , geography , developmental psychology , social psychology , archaeology , sociology , anthropology , economics , economic growth
Objective : To test the hypothesis that mothers of young children would have a higher prevalence of obesity if they lived in neighborhoods that they perceived as unsafe or as having a low level of collective efficacy. Research Methods and Procedures : Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a cross‐sectional analysis was conducted of 2445 women living in 20 large (population ≥ 200, 000) U.S. cities. BMI was measured on 72% and self‐reported on 28%. Perception of neighborhood safety was assessed with the Neighborhood Environment for Children Rating Scales. The collective efficacy measure was adapted from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Results : Thirty percent of the women were married, 38% lived below the U.S. poverty threshold, and 66% reported no education beyond high school. Approximately one‐half of the women were non‐Hispanic black, and one‐fourth were Hispanic (any race). After adjustment for sociodemographic factors (household income, education, race/ethnicity, age, and marital status), smoking, depression, and television time, the prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ) increased across tertiles of neighborhood safety from safest to least safe (37% vs. 41% vs. 46%, p = 0.004) but did not differ across tertiles of collective efficacy from highest to lowest (41% vs. 40% vs. 42%, p = 0.67). Discussion : In a national sample of women with young children, obesity was more prevalent among those who perceived their neighborhoods to be unsafe.

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