Overweight/obesity relationship with travel patterns, socioeconomic characteristics, and built environment

Overweight and obesity are significant health issues in the modern era and correlate with daily activities, including travelling. This study focuses on understanding the relationship between overweight/obesity and travel patterns and built environment for individuals belonging to different socioeconomic groups for developing countries, where limited research is witnessed from a transportation perspective on such health parameters. The data was collected using a face-to-face home interview survey in Navi Mumbai city in Maharashtra. The sample size used for the analysis is 4253 respondents. A logistic regression model is developed to assess the impact of travel patterns, socioeconomic factors, and built environment around an individual on the likelihood of getting overweight/obese. The results indicate that commuting by private modes is associated with increased chances of getting overweight/obese. In contrast, a negative association is observed in the chances of getting overweight/obese if commuting by active mode. The study provides quantitative support on the relationship between commuting vehicle preferences and their chances of getting overweight/obese. The interaction of walk score and population density suggests that the probability of getting overweight/obese reduces at higher values of walk score as the population density increases. The odds ratio helps understand the impact of different travel modes and their risk on the likelihood of being overweight/obese within a specific age category. The highest risk is observed for car/cab users compared to other modes in all age categories. The study highlights the importance of sustainable transportation modes (walking and public transport) on overweight/obesity—a crucial physical wellbeing parameter. Improving walkability measures such as walk score coupled with appropriate population density and efficient public transport system can be effective public health intervention and overweight/obesity preventative strategies.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2021.101240
• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221414052100270X
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/22141405
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Sharma, Gajanand
  • 0000-0001-5501-1274
  • Patil, Gopal R
• Publication Date: 2021-9

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Pagination: 101240
• Serial:
  • Journal of Transport & Health
  • Volume: 22
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 2214-1405
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22141405

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Built environment; Mode choice; Obesity; Risk assessment; Socioeconomic factors; Travel behavior
• Geographic Terms: Maharashtra (India)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01784802
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 15 2021 9:22AM