ENVIRONMENT AND OBESITY

So what does graffiti have to do with being obese?

According to new research, environment and obesity are linked. If you live around areas that are grafittied and littered, you’re more likely to be obese.

It’s an interesting take on obesity: looking at the link between one’s environment and obesity tendency. But it’s really a roundabout way to show that for the most part, it’s the classic reasons for weight gain which cause these individuals who live in the inner city to be obese.

It’s been shown in previous studies that where one lives may be associated with levels of physical activity and as a result, environment and obesity are linked. The new data out of the British Medical Journal does indeed demonstrate city dwellers living in areas with little greenery and high levels of graffiti and litter are more likely to be obese than those living in pleasant areas with lots of greenery.

Dr. Louis Flancbaum, Director of Bariatric Services at Glen Cove Hospital, says, “It’s clear that environment and obesity are linked. When you look at large populations of people you find that obesity is more a disease of poor people than a disease of affluent people. If one lives in a particularly dangerous part of the city where one is afraid to go out, one would be getting less physical activity.”

In areas with high levels of greenery, the likelihood of being more physically active was over three times as high, and the likelihood of being overweight and obese was about 40% less.
For those whose residential environment contained high levels of “incivilities”, like litter and graffiti, the likelihood of being more physically active was about 50% less, and the likelihood of being overweight or obese was about 50% higher.

“This is not a problem that’s going to be solved in five years. And it’s going to take many many years for any changes that we make in terms of community design or urban planning to fix these problems,” says Dr. Flancbaum.

Still, the link between environment and obesity is just one factor contributing to a complex problem which is related to other social, economic, and psychological issues. “This problem is never going to get solved, unless people change what they eat and how they eat and how they exercise. And if they don’t change all three of those they’re not going to have a positive outcome,” Dr. Flancbaum states.

There is no question that those in poorer urban areas have worse diets, they go for food which is inexpensive, and those foods are typically high in fat and calories. So the environment is really a marker of fewer financial resources.
Still, the authors say that efforts to promote physical activity and reduce weight should take into account environmental factors that contribute to obesity.

These environmental factors could act as a barrier to exercise, on top of the individual factors.