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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
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Comparing different data sources by examining the associations between surrounding greenspace and children's weight
Yusheng Zhou1, Thomas von Lengerke2, Maren Dreier3
1Hannover Medical School, Institute for Epidemiology, Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Carl-Neuberg Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany. Zhou.Yusheng@mh-hannover.de.
International Journal of Health Geographics
|May 29, 2021
Summary
Childhood overweight risk is linked to how greenspace is measured. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) offers a more comprehensive measure, showing lower BMI with more greenspace, particularly for boys and migrant children.
Area of Science:
- Environmental health
- Pediatric health
- Geographic information systems
Background:
- Inconsistent findings exist regarding the link between childhood greenspace exposure and overweight status.
- Discrepancies may stem from varied definitions and measurements of surrounding greenspace.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the association between greenspace and childhood overweight depends on the greenspace measurement method.
- To compare different data sources for quantifying greenspace availability.
Main Methods:
- Utilized school entry examination data for 22,678 children in Hannover, Germany (2010-2014).
- Derived greenspace availability using three sources: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), OpenStreetMap (OSM), and European Urban Atlas (UA).
- Employed multilevel regression analysis to assess associations with BMI z-score and interaction terms.
Main Results:
- Greenspace coverage varied by source: NDVI (42%), OSM (29%), UA (22%). OSM and UA showed strong correlation.
- Only NDVI-derived greenspace was associated with BMI z-score; higher greenspace correlated with lower BMI.
- This association was more pronounced in boys and children of migrants, and evident only at the highest greenspace levels.
Conclusions:
- The measurement of greenspace significantly influences observed associations with children's weight status.
- NDVI provided a more comprehensive measure of surrounding greenspace relevant to health outcomes compared to land use-based datasets (UA, OSM).
- Further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms connecting greenspace and child obesity.
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