The Relationship between Walkable Communities and Adolescent Weight

Objective: This study examined the association between walkability and adolescent weight in a 26 national sample of public secondary school students and the communities in which they live. Methods: Data were collected through student surveys and community observations between 28 February and August 2010, and analyses were conducted in spring 2012. The sample size was 29 154 communities and 11,041 students. A community walkability index and measures of the 30 prevalence of adolescent overweight and obesity were constructed. Multivariable analyses from a cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of 8th, 10th and 12th 31 grade public 32 school students in the US were run. Results: The odds of students being overweight (OR, 0.975; 33 95% CI: 0.94, 0.99) or obese (OR, 0.971; 95% CI: 0.94, 0.99) decreased if they lived in 34 communities with higher walkability index scores. Conclusions: Results suggest that living in 35 more walkable communities is associated with reduced prevalence of adolescent overweight and 36 obesity.