Childhood/adolescent obesity is an epidemic in the United States that disproportionately affects underserved populations. My long-term goal is to examine and address the social determinants that contribute to the exponential rise in obesity in children/adolescents and the current socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in obesity.
The aim of my research is to illustrate how social, political, and economic factors such as concentration of poverty shape the food environment of youth. Based on existing research and social epidemiologic theories, viable solutions to the obesity epidemic are entrenched with a) focusing early in the life course on children/adolescents in order to reduce the likelihood of obesity in adulthood and prevent the development of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease and b) examining and ameliorating the social and environmental factors that cause obesity and obesity disparities. In the proposed study, I explore how characteristics of the neighborhood where young people live and where they go to school influence their likelihood of being overweight/obese above and beyond their individual characteristics. In order to achieve these objectives, I am employing a longitudinal research design using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. In the proposed study, I will examine individual, contextual, and social factors that may shape the food environment and therefore affect risk of obesity in adolescents. The research will analyze the effect of environmental factors such as, percent poverty and percent unemployed in census tract and racial composition of schools, on obesity after controlling for covariates such as maternal education, maternal overweight/obese, age, gender, and race/ethnicity. This multilevel inspired study design enables examination of both individual and contextual/compositional variables. The mission of the NIH is to promote scientific research that advances our knowledge and reduces the burden of illness and disability.
In light of the growing prevalence of overweight/obesity and its devastating health and social consequences, my proposed study embodies the aims of the NIH by using innovative research strategies to conduct socially responsible research that will improve our understanding of overweight/obesity and help identify effective preventive solutions. ? ? ? ?
