Objective: We examined BMI development across changes in the built environment during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood and explored the moderating role of genetic risk.
Methods: We used longitudinal data from individuals aged 16 to 25 years in the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) that we linked to built environment data for 2006, 2010, and 2016 from the Geoscience and Health Cohort Consortium (GECCO). We fitted a latent growth model of BMI and examined associations of changes in fast-food restaurant density and walkability with changes in BMI (n = 2735), as well as interactions of changes in fast-food restaurant density and walkability with genetic risk (n = 1676).
Int J Environ Res Public Health
July 2024
Air pollution exposure has been linked to detrimental health outcomes. While cross-sectional studies have demonstrated socioeconomic disparities in air pollution exposure, longitudinal evidence on these disparities remains limited. The current study investigates trends in residential air pollution exposure across socioeconomic groups in the Netherlands from 2014 to 2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Overweight and obesity impose a considerable individual and social burden, and the urban environments might encompass factors that contribute to obesity. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of research that takes into account the simultaneous interaction of multiple environmental factors.
Objectives: Our objective was to perform an exposome-wide association study of body mass index (BMI) in a multicohort setting of 15 studies.
Current evidence on neighborhood walkability and active commuting focuses on residential rather than workplace environment. This cross-sectional study investigated whether higher workplace walkability (WW) was associated with commute walking, both independently and together with residential walkability, using data from 6769 respondents of the 2017 Dutch national travel survey. In a fully adjusted logistic regression model, 10% increase in WW was associated with 32% higher odds of commute walking (Odds ratio (OR): 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Previous cross-sectional and longitudinal observational studies revealed positive relationships between contextual built environment components and walking behavior. Due to severe restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, physical activity was primarily performed within the immediate living area. Using this unique opportunity, we evaluated whether built environment components were associated with the magnitude of change in walking activity in adults during COVID-19 restrictions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Environmental factors that drive obesity are often studied individually, whereas obesogenic environments are likely to consist of multiple factors from food and physical activity (PA) environments. This study aimed to compose and describe a comprehensive, theory-based, expert-informed index to quantify obesogenicity for all neighborhoods in the Netherlands.
Methods: The Obesogenic Built Environment CharacterisTics (OBCT) index consists of 17 components.
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act
May 2022
Background: Walkability indices have been developed and linked to behavioural and health outcomes elsewhere in the world, but not comprehensively for Europe. We aimed to 1) develop a theory-based and evidence-informed Dutch walkability index, 2) examine its cross-sectional associations with total and purpose-specific walking behaviours of adults across socioeconomic (SES) and urbanisation strata, 3) explore which walkability components drive these associations.
Methods: Components of the index included: population density, retail and service density, land use mix, street connectivity, green space, sidewalk density and public transport density.
Background: Supporting older adults to engage in physically active lifestyles requires supporting environments. Walkable environments may increase walking activity in older adults, but evidence for this subgroup is scarce, and longitudinal studies are lacking. This study therefore examined whether changes in neighbourhood walkability were associated with changes in walking activity in older adults, and whether this association differed by individual-level characteristics and by contextual conditions beyond the built environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudies investigating neighborhood walkability and physical activity in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) mainly used self-report measures, and only few studies assessed the association with glycemic control. This study assessed the associations between objectively measured (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnvironmental exposures are increasingly investigated as possible drivers of health behaviours and disease outcomes. So-called exposome studies that aim to identify and better understand the effects of exposures on behaviours and disease risk across the life course require high-quality environmental exposure data. The Netherlands has a great variety of environmental data available, including high spatial and often temporal resolution information on urban infrastructure, physico-chemical exposures, presence and availability of community services, and others.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study examined the associations of objectively measured neighbourhood built environment characteristics with objectively measured physical activity (PA) in older people with and without lower limb osteoarthritis (LLOA), and assessed whether these relationships differ between both groups.
Methods: Data from the Dutch component of the European Project on OSteoArthritis were used. American College of Rheumatology classification criteria were used to diagnose LLOA (knee and/or hip osteoarthritis).