{"title":"The Weight of Place: Built Environment Correlates of Obesity and Diabetes.","authors":"Nicholas A Howell, Gillian L Booth","doi":"10.1210/endrev/bnac005","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In recent decades, the prevalence of obesity and diabetes has risen substantially in North America and worldwide. To address these dual epidemics, researchers and policymakers alike have been searching for effective means to promote healthy lifestyles at a population level. As a consequence, there has been a proliferation of research examining how the \"built\" environment in which we live influences physical activity levels, by promoting active forms of transportation, such as walking and cycling, over passive ones, such as car use. Shifting the transportation choices of local residents may mean that more members of the population can participate in physical activity during their daily routine without structured exercise programs. Increasingly, this line of research has considered the downstream metabolic consequences of the environment in which we live, raising the possibility that \"healthier\" community designs could help mitigate the rise in obesity and diabetes prevalence. This review discusses the evidence examining the relationship between the built environment, physical activity, and obesity-related diseases. We also consider how other environmental factors may interact with the built environment to influence metabolic health, highlighting challenges in understanding causal relationships in this area of research.</p>","PeriodicalId":11544,"journal":{"name":"Endocrine reviews","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":22.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9695105/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Endocrine reviews","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1210/endrev/bnac005","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In recent decades, the prevalence of obesity and diabetes has risen substantially in North America and worldwide. To address these dual epidemics, researchers and policymakers alike have been searching for effective means to promote healthy lifestyles at a population level. As a consequence, there has been a proliferation of research examining how the "built" environment in which we live influences physical activity levels, by promoting active forms of transportation, such as walking and cycling, over passive ones, such as car use. Shifting the transportation choices of local residents may mean that more members of the population can participate in physical activity during their daily routine without structured exercise programs. Increasingly, this line of research has considered the downstream metabolic consequences of the environment in which we live, raising the possibility that "healthier" community designs could help mitigate the rise in obesity and diabetes prevalence. This review discusses the evidence examining the relationship between the built environment, physical activity, and obesity-related diseases. We also consider how other environmental factors may interact with the built environment to influence metabolic health, highlighting challenges in understanding causal relationships in this area of research.
期刊介绍:
Endocrine Reviews, published bimonthly, features concise timely reviews updating key mechanistic and clinical concepts, alongside comprehensive, authoritative articles covering both experimental and clinical endocrinology themes. The journal considers topics informing clinical practice based on emerging and established evidence from clinical research. It also reviews advances in endocrine science stemming from studies in cell biology, immunology, pharmacology, genetics, molecular biology, neuroscience, reproductive medicine, and pediatric endocrinology.