Differential associations of the built environment on weight gain by sex and race/ethnicity but not age

OBJECTIVE: To explore the built environment (BE) and weight change relationship by age, sex, and racial/ethnic subgroups in adults. METHODS: Weight trajectories were estimated using electronic health records for 115,260 insured Kaiser Permanente Washington members age 18–64 years. Member home addresses were geocoded using ArcGIS. Population, residential, and road intersection densities and counts of area supermarkets and fast food restaurants were measured with SmartMaps (800 and 5,000-meter buffers) and categorized into tertiles. Linear mixed-effect models tested whether associations between BE features and weight gain at 1, 3, and 5 years differed by age, sex, and race/ethnicity, adjusting for demographics, baseline weight and residential property values. RESULTS: Denser urban form and greater availability of supermarkets and fast food restaurants were associated with differential weight change across sex and race/ethnicity. At 5 years, the mean difference in weight change comparing the 3(rd) versus 1(st) tertile of residential density was significantly different between males (−0.49 kg, 95% CI: −0.68, −0.30) and females (−0.17 kg, 95% CI: −0.33, −0.01) (P-value for interaction = 0.011). Across race/ethnicity, the mean difference in weight change at 5 years for residential density was significantly different among non-Hispanic (NH) Whites (−0.47 kg, 95% CI: −0.61, −0.32), NH Blacks (−0.86 kg, 95% CI: −1.37, −0.36), Hispanics (0.10 kg, 95% CI: −0.46, 0.65), and NH Asians (0.44 kg, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.78) (P-value for interaction < 0.001). These findings were consistent for other BE measures. CONCLUSION: The relationship between the built environment and weight change differs across demographic groups. Careful consideration of demographic differences in associations of BE and weight trajectories is warranted for investigating etiological mechanisms and guiding intervention development.