Category Archives: Childhood

Higher Neighborhood Walkability is Associated with a Lower Risk of Gestational Diabetes

Posted on January 26, 2023 by Built Environment and Health

Continuing our partnership with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to study how urban built environments influence health during pregnancy we recently published research showing that higher neighborhood walkability is associated with lower risk of gestational diabetes.  Gestational … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Transport, Adults, Childhood, Diabetes, Urban Design, Walkability | Leave a comment

Higher Neighborhood Walkability is Associated with a Lower Risk of Excessive Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Posted on June 15, 2022 by Built Environment and Health

In partnership with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene we have been studying how neighborhood environments influence health during pregnancy and birth outcomes, with recent work focusing on weight gain during pregnancy.   In 2009, the Institute of Medicine … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Transport, Adults, Childhood, Healthy Pregnancies, Physical Activity, Urban Design, Walkability | 1 Comment

Physical Activity in an Urban Environment and Associations with Air Pollution and Lung Function

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Built Environment and Health

In new work published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society we analyzed the links between where children are physically active and their exposure to air pollution and lung function.  Physical activity is associated with increased ventilation because of … Continue reading →

Posted in Accelerometers, Asthma, Childhood, GPS | Leave a comment

A SMART START: A Symposium on Preventing Childhood Obesity

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Built Environment and Health

On April 16th the Mailman School is presenting an afternoon long symposium, “A SMART START:  A Symposium on Preventing Childhood Obesity“, focused on prenatal and early childhood determinants of obesity.  This symposium is part of a month long series of … Continue reading →

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Neighborhood Fast Food Restaurants, Economic Investment and Adolescent Obesity

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Built Environment and Health

Many researchers, public health officials and policy makers suggest that neighborhood characteristics may influence dietary and physical activity patterns and thus influence obesity risk.  Because of the evidence that fast food consumption is linked to obesity, researchers interested in neighborhood … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood, Economic Development, FITNESSGRAM, Food Environment | Leave a comment

Obesity among Children from Low Income Families in NYC

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Built Environment and Health

Our recent paper in published in the journal Preventive Medicine looks at obesity among children in a means-tested preschool program in New York City.  Among the 11,562 children from low income families enrolled the program in 2004, 16% were overweight and 24% … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood, Safety | Leave a comment

20% of New York City Public School Children were Obese during the 2007-08 School Year

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Built Environment and Health

Our analyses of data from 624,204 public school children (kindergarten through 12th grade) who took part in the 2007–2008 New York City Fitnessgram Program show that prevalence of obesity was 20.3%, and the prevalence of overweight was 17.6%.  This research … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood, FITNESSGRAM, Schools | Leave a comment