Green space and child weight status : does outcome measurement matter? Evidence from an Australian longitudinal study
Abstract
Objective. To examine whether neighbourhood green space is beneficially associated with (i) waist circumference (WC) and (ii) waist-to-height ratio (WtHR) across childhood. Methods. Gender-stratified multilevel linear regressions were used to examine associations between green space and objective measures of weight status in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, a nationally representative source of data on 4,423 children aged 6 y to 13 y. WC and WtHR were measured objectively. Percentage green space within the local area of residence was calculated. Effect modification by age was explored, adjusting for socioeconomic confounding. Results. Compared to peers with 0-5% green space locally, boys and girls with >40% green space tended to have lower WC (βboys -1.15, 95% CI -2.44, 0.14; βgirls -0.21, 95% CI -1.47, 1.05) and WtHR (βboys -0.82, 95% CI -1.65, 0.01; βgirls -0.32, 95% CI -1.13, 0.49). Associations among boys were contingent upon age (p valuesage green space40% green space at 73.85 cm and 45.75% compared to those with 0-5% green space at 75.18 cm and 46.62%, respectively. Conclusions. Greener neighbourhoods appear beneficial to alternative child weight status measures, particularly among boys.
Citation
Sanders , T , Feng , X , Fahey , P P , Lonsdale , C & Astell-Burt , T E 2015 , ' Green space and child weight status : does outcome measurement matter? Evidence from an Australian longitudinal study ' , International Journal of Obesity , vol. 2015 , 194838 . https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/194838
Publication
International Journal of Obesity
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2090-0708Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2015 Taren Sanders et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Description
Taren Sanders is supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award. Thomas Astell-Burt is supported by a Fellowship with the National Heart Foundation of Australia.Collections
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