Race differentials in obesity: the impact of place.
This article reveals race differentials in obesity as both an individual- and neighborhood-level phenomena. Using neighborhood-level data from the 1990-1994 National Health Interview Survey, we find that neighborhoods characterized by high proportions of black residents have a greater prevalence of obesity than areas in which the majority of the residents are white. Using individual-level data, we also find that residents of neighborhoods in which at least one-quarter of the residents are black face a 13 percent increase in the odds of being obese compared to residents of other communities. The association between neighborhood racial composition and obesity is completely attenuated after including statistical controls for the poverty rate and obesity prevalence of respondents' neighborhoods. These findings support the underlying assumptions of both institutional and social models of neighborhood effects.
Boardman
Jason D
JD
Department of Sociology and Population Program, Institute of Behavioral Science, 219 Ketchum Hall, 327 UCB, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0327, USA. boardman@colorado.edu
Saint Onge
Jarron M
JM
Rogers
Richard G
RG
Denney
Justin T
JT
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D044469:Racial Groups; D012111:Residence Characteristics