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Neighborhoods Are Deciding Factor In Type 2 Diabetes

Posted on: Tuesday, 13 October 2009, 11:45 CDT

U.S. researchers said on Monday that people who live in neighborhoods with safe sidewalks, ample parks, good public transportation and ready access to fresh fruits and vegetables are 38 percent less likely to develop diabetes than others, Reuters reported.

The report suggests creating a healthy neighborhood is one thing policymakers can do to address the epidemic of diabetes, which costs the United States more than $116 billion in medical expenses each year.

Some 246 million people globally have diabetes, with an estimated 23.6 million in the United States alone. The majority has type 2, the kind linked with a poor diet and lack of exercise.

Amy Auchincloss of Drexel University in Philadelphia, whose study appears in the Archives of Internal Medicine, said altering our environments so that healthier behaviors and lifestyles can be easily chosen may be one of the key steps in arresting and reversing these epidemics.

The study looked at 2,285 adults age 45 to 84 from three different communities: Baltimore, Maryland; the Bronx neighborhood of New York and Forsyth County, North Carolina, who were initially examined between 2000 and 2002.

Researchers took blood sugar levels before the study and at three follow-up exams to gathered information on physical activity, weight and diet.

Neighborhood resources were also measured through a community survey that asked about whether it was easy to get healthy foods, or if it was pleasant or easy to take walks in these surrounding areas. Neighborhoods were defined as the area within a 20-minute walk or a mile from their homes.

The communities that offered more healthy resources showed that people were 38 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes in five years than people who lived in less-healthy neighborhoods. A combined score for opportunities for physical activity and healthy foods decided these scores.

Meanwhile, previous studies showed a lack of access to healthy foods in poor neighborhoods was found to contribute to obesity.

And youth whose schools are located near a fast food outlet eat fewer fruits and vegetables, drink more soda and are more likely to be obese than students at other schools, according to a study published last year in the American Journal of Public Health.

Dr. Mitchell Katz of the San Francisco Department of Public Health said in a commentary of the study that although it is difficult to force an individual to make changes that alter their diabetes risk, it might be possible to lower the incidence of diabetes in a community by making neighborhood improvements.

Katz said in order to decrease the rates of type 2 diabetes, we need to change the environment in ways that make it easy for people to exercise and eat right as part of their daily routine.

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On the Net:

• Drexel University
• Archives of Internal Medicine

Source: RedOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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