Attributes of the food and physical activity built environments from the Southern Cone of Latin America

Spatial pattern analysis of the impact of community food environments on foetal macrosomia, preterm births and low birth weight

Community food environments (CFEs) have a strong impact on child health and nutrition and this impact is currently negative in many areas. In the Republic of Argentina, there is a lack of research evaluating CFEs regionally and comprehensively by tools based on geographic information systems (GIS). This study aimed to characterize the spatial patterns of CFEs, through variables associated with its three dimensions (political, individual and environmental), and their association with the spatial distribution in urban localities in Argentina. CFEs were assessed in 657 localities with ≥5,000 inhabitants. Data on births and CFEs were obtained from nationally available open-source data and through remote sensing. The spatial distribution and presence of clusters were assessed using hotspot analysis, purely spatial analysis (SaTScan), Moran's Index, semivariograms and spatially restrained multivariate clustering. Clusters of low risk for LBW, macrosomia, and preterm births were observed in the central-east part of the country, while high-risk clusters identified in the North, Centre and South. In the central-eastern region, low-risk clusters were found coinciding with hotspots of public policy coverage, high night-time light, social security coverage and complete secondary education of the household head in areas with low risk for negative outcomes of the birth variables studied, with the opposite with regard to households with unsatisfied basic needs and predominant land use classes in peri-urban areas of crops and herbaceous cover. These results show that the exploration of spatial patterns of CFEs is a necessary preliminary step before developing explanatory models and generating novel findings valuable for decision-making.

Perceived urban environment attributes and obesity indices in adults: an 8-Nation study from Latin America

This study examines the associations between perceived urban environment attributes and obesity indices by country using data from an eight-nation study from Latin America. The data were collected from 8185 adults. The Neighbourhood Environment Walkability-abbreviated scale was used to assess perceived urban environment attributes. Obesity indices considered were body mass index, waist circumference, neck circumference, a body shape index and waist-to-height ratio. The perception of a more and better land use mix-diversity (β - 0.44; 95% CI - 0.59, - 0.28), traffic safety (- 0.39; - 0.66, - 0.12), and safety from crime (- 0.36; - 0.57, - 0.15) was associated with lower body mass index across the entire sample. Land use mix-diversity (- 1.21; - 1.60, - 0.82), street connectivity (- 0.26; - 0.37, - 0.15), and traffic safety (- 0.79; - 1.47, - 0.12) were negatively associated with waist circumference. Land use mix-diversity (- 0.11; - 0.20, - 0.03), land use mix-access (- 0.23; - 0.34, 0.12), walking/cycling facilities (- 0.22; - 0.37, - 0.08), and safety from crime (- 0.27; - 0.42, - 0.12) were negatively associated with neck circumference. No associations between perceived urban environment attributes and a body shape index were found. Land use mix-diversity (- 0.01; - 0.02, - 0.01), aesthetics (- 0.02; - 0.03, - 0.01), and safety from crime (- 0.02; - 0.04, - 0.01) were associated with waist-to-height ratio. Environmental interventions involving urban environment attributes are associated with obesity indices and, therefore, may help decrease the prevalence of overweight and obesity.