Poor Neighborhoods Can Harm Health
New 色情视频 research finds that low-income areas have many road blocks to physical activity.
The study is published in the new issue of the journal, , and helps explain how low-income neighborhoods can harm health.
A number of neighborhood attributes play a role discouraging people in low-income areas from participating in physical activity, said , lead author on the study as well as the director of 色情视频鈥檚 program.
鈥淲e examined a wide variety of neighborhood attributes that have been linked to physical activity, diet or obesity, and almost all of them were worse in low-income areas,鈥� Sallis said.
鈥淢any low-income communities lack access to parks, recreation areas and sources of healthy foods. Residents of poor neighborhoods are more concerned about traffic and crime, and those factors play a significant role in preventing participation in outdoor activity in their communities.鈥�
A similar but unrelated study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that living in low-income neighborhoods was detrimental to health, particular related to obesity and diabetes. This new 色情视频 study digs deeper into how and why low-income neighborhoods can harm health.
Walkability of neighborhoods
色情视频 researchers evaluated the environmental attributes of 32 neighborhoods in and around Seattle, Wash., and Baltimore, Md., on walkability and neighborhood income.
鈥淚f we can convince cities and counties to focus on building and revitalizing communities to make them more walkable, the health of our citizens should be greatly improved...鈥�
In general, high-walkable neighborhoods had much more multi-family housing, grid-like street networks and nearby shopping with entrances opening onto sidewalks instead of parking lots. Low-walkability neighborhoods followed suburban, more automobile-oriented designs, with single-family detached housing, poorly connected streets and little or no nearby retail.
Equal numbers of high- and low-income neighborhoods were studied in the high- and low-walkable categories.
Thus, overall walkability was comparable across income categories. In earlier research published on the , it was found that individuals who live in high-walkable communities are more physically active and less likely to be obese than those who live in low-walkable communities. Like other studies, residents of low-income neighborhoods were more obese, regardless of walkability.
鈥淭his study showed that even though we found low- and high-income neighborhoods with similar walkability, there were many other environmental differences. In low-income areas, there were fewer sidewalks, street crossings were less safe and aesthetics were poorer, so it was less safe and pleasant to be active outdoors.
鈥淲hen you combine this with fewer parks and healthy food stores, it is easy to understand why people in low-income neighborhoods find it difficult to have healthy lifestyles.鈥�
Public health research is one of many ways 色情视频 faculty are leading innovation and discovery, a key initiative of . With a unique focus on the teacher-scholar model, 色情视频 attracts researchers interested in solving the world鈥檚 most pressing problems, while showing students how to provide future solutions. .
The built environment
Promoting change in built environments is a main goal for Sallis and his fellow researchers.
鈥淚f we can convince cities and counties to focus on building and revitalizing communities to make them more walkable, the health of our citizens should be greatly improved, reducing illnesses and health care costs nationwide,鈥� Sallis said.
Some of the disadvantages found in low-income neighborhoods could be remedied in the short term with specific policies, according to Sallis.
鈥淚mprovements in amenities like sidewalks, bicycle facilities, streetlights and street crossings could make walking and bicycling safer. Neighborhood esthetics could be enhanced by planting trees, picking up litter and painting over graffiti.
鈥淧ublic investments in parks and incentives for private recreation facilities to locate in low-income neighborhoods may be needed to remove disparities in access to recreation facilities.鈥�
Sallis said comprehensive longer-term approaches are likely needed for the other solutions: traffic calming to improve pedestrian/traffic safety, policing strategies to improve crime safety and economic development to renovate dilapidated buildings and attract grocery stores.
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