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Racial Residential Segregation and Disparities in Obesity among Women

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Abstract

The high rate of obesity among black women in the USA is a significant public health problem. However, there is limited research on the relationship between racial residential segregation and disparities in obesity, and the existing evidence is limited and results are mixed. This study examines the relationship between racial residential segregation and obesity among black and white women. We conducted this cross-sectional study by joining data from the 1999–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with data from the 2000 US Census. Multilevel logistic regression models found that for every one-point increase in the black isolation index, there was a 1.06 (95 % confidence interval (CI) = 1.01, 1.11) times higher odds of obesity for black women. In order to address the disparately high rates of obesity among black women, health policies need to address the economic, political, and social forces that produce racially segregated neighborhoods.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a grant from the National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute (1R015R01HL092846-02) to the last author.

Disclaimer

The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Research Data Center, the National Center for Health Statistics, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Kelly M. Bower, Roland J. Thorpe Jr., E. Emma E. McGinty, Lisa Dubay & Darrell J. Gaskin

  2. Department of Community Public Health, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Kelly M. Bower

  3. Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Roland J. Thorpe Jr.

  4. Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Gayane Yenokyan

  5. Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    E. Emma E. McGinty & Darrell J. Gaskin

  6. Health Policy Center, Urban Institute, Washington, DC, USA

    Lisa Dubay

Authors
  1. Kelly M. Bower
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  2. Roland J. Thorpe Jr.
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  3. Gayane Yenokyan
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  4. E. Emma E. McGinty
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  5. Lisa Dubay
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  6. Darrell J. Gaskin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kelly M. Bower.

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Bower, K.M., Thorpe, R.J., Yenokyan, G. et al. Racial Residential Segregation and Disparities in Obesity among Women. J Urban Health 92, 843–852 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-015-9974-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-015-9974-z

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