Built environment, contextual income, and obesity in older adults: evidence from a population-based study

The objective was to verify the association between built environment, contextual income, and obesity in older adults in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. This was a cross-sectional study in a sample of 1,197 older people (≥ 60 years) evaluated in the EpiFloripa Older Adults Cohort in 2013/2014. The outcomes were overall obesity, abdominal obesity, waist circumference (WC), and body mass index (BMI). Contextual income in the census tract and characteristics of the built environment were analyzed using data from the Florianópolis Institute of Urban Planning (IPUF) and the 2010 Population Census. Logistic and multilevel linear regression models were used. For older women, intermediate mean income was associated with lower odds of abdominal and overall obesity, while higher percentage of paved streets in the census tract was associated with lower odds of abdominal obesity; one percentage point increment in local commerce decreased WC by 0.20cm, and a one percentage point increase in paved streets decreased WC by 0.43cm and BMI by 0.22kg/m2. For older men, better street connectivity and intermediate percentage of local commerce were associated with lower odds of overall obesity; the increment in street density decreased WC by 0.34cm and BMI by 10kg/m2; a one-point increment in lighting increased WC by 0.51cm and BMI by 0.11kg/m2. The results showed different associations according to sex and target outcome, highlighting the need for further studies to explore additional relevant contextual variables for these outcomes in older adults.