Obesity rates are increasing in the US, with no signs of slowing; obesity is increasing in all age groups, races and both sexes. It is higher among women of reproductive age and is growing rapidly among children. In order to curtail this complex, global epidemic, it is critical to identify modifiable environmental risk factors such as food security status; proximity to supermarkets, fast food restaurants and recreational facilities; transportation; neighborhood safety and crime-that contribute to nutrition, health disparities, and obesity risk in these populations. Postpartum women are of particular interest because of changes occurring in weight and growth that are immediately influenced by their environments. The proposed research project will assess neighborhood and socio-environmental influences on nutrition and obesity by collecting a broad range of data on participants' communities an ongoing study of postpartum weight retention. Socio-environmental data will be collected and linked to a vast array of detailed individual-level socio-demographic, dietary and behavioral data existing on this cohort. The project's specific aims are: 1) To develop an enhanced framework for this analysis based on formal ethnographic study of the food environment; 2) Using this model, to assess the effect of environmental factors on dietary intake, food security status, and postpartum weight retention; 3) To assess the generalizability of the postpartum study sample by comparing them to women from a representative sample; and 4) To develop a spatially explicit, neighborhood food environment index related to obesity. This study involves data collection and analysis of compositional (e.g. census), contextual (e.g. food resources), and spatially derived data (e.g. distance to food resource) on health outcomes under the supervision of established investigators. Accomplishing the aims of this proposal will expand current understanding of the food environment and will inform further study of alternative strategies for measurement and analysis of environmental influences on health. The paramount goal of this career award is to furnish the PI with supervised research experience and didactic training in sociology, economics, hierarchical and spatial analysis; these experiences will lead to R01 submission and establishment of the PI as an independent investigator.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training (K01)
Project #
1K01HD047122-01A1
Application #
6866741
Study Section
Pediatrics Subcommittee (CHHD)
Program Officer
Clark, Rebecca L
Project Start
2005-02-15
Project End
2010-01-31
Budget Start
2005-02-15
Budget End
2006-01-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$95,126
Indirect Cost
Name
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Department
Nutrition
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
608195277
City
Chapel Hill
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27599
Laraia, Barbara; Vinikoor-Imler, Lisa C; Siega-Riz, Anna Maria (2015) Food insecurity during pregnancy leads to stress, disordered eating, and greater postpartum weight among overweight women. Obesity (Silver Spring) 23:1303-11
Stoddard, Pamela J; Laraia, Barbara A; Warton, E Margaret et al. (2013) Neighborhood deprivation and change in BMI among adults with type 2 diabetes: the Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE). Diabetes Care 36:1200-8
Laraia, Barbara; Epel, Elissa; Siega-Riz, Anna Maria (2013) Food insecurity with past experience of restrained eating is a recipe for increased gestational weight gain. Appetite 65:178-84
Laraia, Barbara A (2013) Food insecurity and chronic disease. Adv Nutr 4:203-12
Jones-Smith, Jessica C; Karter, Andrew J; Warton, E Margaret et al. (2013) Obesity and the food environment: income and ethnicity differences among people with diabetes: the Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE). Diabetes Care 36:2697-705
Messer, Lynne C; Vinikoor-Imler, Lisa C; Laraia, Barbara A (2012) Conceptualizing neighborhood space: consistency and variation of associations for neighborhood factors and pregnancy health across multiple neighborhood units. Health Place 18:805-13
Laraia, Barbara A; Karter, Andrew J; Warton, E Margaret et al. (2012) Place matters: neighborhood deprivation and cardiometabolic risk factors in the Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE). Soc Sci Med 74:1082-90
Tester, June M; Yen, Irene H; Pallis, Lauren C et al. (2011) Healthy food availability and participation in WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) in food stores around lower- and higher-income elementary schools. Public Health Nutr 14:960-4
Vinikoor-Imler, L C; Messer, L C; Evenson, K R et al. (2011) Neighborhood conditions are associated with maternal health behaviors and pregnancy outcomes. Soc Sci Med 73:1302-11
Rehkopf, David H; Laraia, Barbara A; Segal, Mark et al. (2011) The relative importance of predictors of body mass index change, overweight and obesity in adolescent girls. Int J Pediatr Obes 6:e233-42

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