title: Urban Neighborhood Features and Longitudinal Weight Development in Girls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The literature on environment and obesity is characterized by studies that are often cross-sectional and lack racial diversity. This study examined associations between neighborhood features and BMI development over 6 years in an urban sample of 2,295 girls (56% African American; mean age at baseline, 11.2 years) in 2004. Analyses were conducted in 2011-2015.
  
  
  METHODS
  Girls, caregivers, and study staff completed annual neighborhood questionnaires. Linear mixed-effects modeling examined annual changes in neighborhood features and BMI and assessed whether baseline neighborhood features modified BMI growth over time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, 40% of participants were overweight/obese. Participants' neighborhoods had few neighborhood problems, moderate levels of safety issues and inconvenient features, low levels of neighborhood disorder, few cases of loitering youth, and substantial traffic volume. Adverse neighborhood features were more common for African American than white participants. Neighborhood features were relatively stable over the follow-up period. African American girls with helpful neighbors had lower annual BMI growth (-0.09 kg/m(2)) than others. For white girls, BMI increased more for girls with helpful neighbors (+0.09 kg/m(2) annually). Regardless of race, living in a U.S. Census tract with low levels of educational achievement was linked with higher BMI growth (an additional 0.07 kg/m(2) annually). Girls living in Census tracts with high (versus low) levels of poverty gained an additional 0.08 kg/m(2) gain annually.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Social environment features are associated with BMI change in white and African American urban girls and may be helpful for identifying girls at risk for early adolescent weight gain.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: kmm34@pitt.edu.
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: McTigue
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Elan D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Charity G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Alison E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Hipwell
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Loeber
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Lewis H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Kuller
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D004779:Environment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D015430:Weight Gain