Statistics Canada
www.statcan.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Study: Impact of neighbourhood income on child obesity
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Children living in Canada's poorest neighbourhoods gained more weight over an eight-year period than those living in more middle-income areas, according to a new study using longitudinal data.
The study, published recently in the journal BMC Public Health, found that neighbourhood environment may be an important determinant of a child's weight at an early age.
Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), the study examined the impact of neighbourhood environment on the body mass index of children from early childhood to adolescence, while controlling for family factors. It assessed a group of up to 2,200 children at two-year intervals between 1994 and 2002.
The study suggested that the impact of a neighbourhood's poverty level rather than affluence may matter most in a child's weight.
It is possible that neighbourhoods may become more important as children age and have more freedom to access the neighbourhood. It is also possible that disparities emerge over time, as children are exposed to such environments over a longer period.
(Low income in neighbourhoods was assessed using data from the 1996 Census to calculate the proportion of the non-institutional population living below Statistics Canada's low-income cutoff.)
The study also found that children in rural areas weighed more than those in urban areas. But unlike the impact of a low-income neighbourhood, the disparity did not increase with age.
The prevalence of childhood obesity and of being overweight has increased dramatically over the last three decades in most developed nations. In Canada, the prevalence of being overweight among children aged 6 to 11 has doubled from 13% in 1977/1978 to 26% in 2004.
These increases are troubling because obesity in childhood persists into adulthood and may be linked to poor long-term health outcomes.
Previous cross-sectional research using the NLSCY has shown that Canadian children and youth living in lower socio-economic status neighbourhoods have a greater likelihood of being overweight or obese.
Note: Body mass index (BMI) is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in metres squared. For adults, a BMI of 25 or more indicates the person is overweight; 30 or more indicates obesity. For children, BMI is calculated using the same formula but adjusted to account for the age and sex of the child.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 4450.
The study, "Effects of neighbourhood income on reported body mass index: An eight-year longitudinal study of Canadian children," was published in the January 2008 edition of BMC Public Health. The full text of the article, in English only, is available online: (www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/8/16).
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Lisa Oliver (613-951-4708; lisa.oliver@statcan.gc.ca), Health Information and Research Division, Statistics Canada.
