Premium
Residential property values: a novel GIS‐based metric to characterize obesogenic environments (255.8)
Author(s) -
Aggarwal Anju,
Rehm Colin,
CohenCline Hannah,
Hurvitz Phil,
Moudon Anne,
Drewnowski Adam
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.255.8
Subject(s) - property value , proxy (statistics) , socioeconomic status , geocoding , property tax , property (philosophy) , geography , environmental health , psychology , demography , statistics , medicine , mathematics , cartography , business , real estate , public economics , economics , population , sociology , philosophy , finance , epistemology , tax reform
Objective: To determine whether multiple attributes of obesogenic environments can be captured by the single objective measure of residential property values. Methods: The Seattle Obesity Study (SOS) was a cross‐sectional study on socioeconomic disparities in diets and health. A telephone survey of a geographically distributed sample of 2,001 King County adults was conducted in 2008‐09. Home addresses were geocoded. Residential property values at tax parcel level were obtained from King County tax assessor. Mean residential property values within a 10‐minute walk (833m buffer) were calculated. Perceptions toward neighborhood social and physical environment were collected by self‐report. Multivariable linear regression analyses examined the associations among multiple attributes of the neighborhood environment, property values and body mass index (BMI). Results: Perceived neighborhood attributes such as crime, heavy traffic and proximity to bars, liquor stores and fast foods were all associated with lower property values. By contrast, living in neighborhoods that were perceived as safe, quiet, clean and attractive was associated with higher property values. Higher property values were in turn associated with lower BMIs. The observed associations between perceived neighborhood characteristics and BMI were largely attenuated after accounting for property values. Conclusion: Environments, described as obesogenic in past studies, were consistently associated with lower property values. Further research, in additional locations, needs to explore whether residential property values act as a proxy for other neighborhood characteristics and socioeconomic status. Grant Funding Source : NIH grants P20 RR020774‐03, R01 DK076608‐04 and R21 DK020774