The Relationship Between Access to Natural Environmental Amenities and Obesity

Background Various aspects of the environment are correlated with obesity. Most of the previous work in this area centers on the built environment. We sought to better understand the association of the natural environment with obesity. Methods We used the Natural Amenities Scale to characterize the attractiveness of 2,545 US counties based on access to open water, varied topography, and mild climate. We obtained the height, weight, age, sex, and address of adults from three different sources. The Departments of Motor Vehicles from seven US states provided over 38 million records. A web survey contributed 3,012 from 48 states and the District of Columbia. A clinical study of adults with diabetes from four states provided 974 more for a total of 38,159,046 analyzable records. We used logistic regression to model the association of obesity with natural amenities while controlling for age, sex, year of data collection, and various socioeconomic characteristics of the county. Results Natural amenities were inversely associated with obesity in all three populations. Over 20% of residents of low amenity areas were obese, but less than 10% of those living with the best natural amenities were obese. Conclusions The natural environment may affect health. Residing in areas with access to open water and a variety of topographic features as well as cool, dry summers and warm, sunny winters is associated with lower rates of obesity.