Washington: If you are moving to a new place, be sure to check the neighbourhood first, for a new study had found that changing home to a depressing neighbourhood was linked to weight gain.
Researchers used data from the Dallas Heart Survey (DHS), a probability-based sample of over 3,000 Dallas County residents aged 18-65 years. The study began between 2000 and 2002 and a seven-year follow-up was conducted between 2007 and 2009, at which time 1,835 participants completed a detailed survey, anthropometric measures, and laboratory testing. Each participant was linked to Dallas County census block groups, and a Neighbourhood Deprivation Index (NDI) was calculated for each block group.
The new research found that people who moved to more socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods gained additional weight.
According to lead investigator Tiffany M. Powell-Wiley, MD, MPH, at NIH, the study shed important light on the impact that changes in neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation by moving can have on weight change and subsequent obesity.
The study also showed that among those who moved to higher-NDI neighbourhoods, the impact of NDI change on weight gain increased for those who lived in a new neighbourhood for more than four years, with a mean additional weight gain per 1-unit NDI increase of 0.85 kg.
The researchers concluded that "this study identifies exposure to higher-deprivation neighbourhoods with moving as a risk factor for weight gain, and suggests a potential source of disparities that can be addressed through focused community-based public health initiatives. More broadly, addressing neighborhood deprivation as a risk factor for obesity and obesity-related cardiovascular disease requires consideration of public policy that can address sources of deprivation."
The study is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
