ArticleHealth and quality of life outcomes2019
Exploring the links between population density, lifestyle, and being overweight: secondary data analyses of middle-aged and older Chinese adults.
Article in Health and quality of life outcomes, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Associations between social and built environments and cardiovascular disease mortality across 342 Latin American cities: results from the SALURBAL study.Journal of global health · 2025Article
- Article
- Temporal trends, associated risk factors and longitudinal cardiovascular outcomes of body roundness among middle-aged and older Chinese adults: from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2011-2018.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- One-year trajectories of nutritional status in perimenopausal women: a community-based multi-centered prospective study.BMC public health · 2024Observational
- Factors associated with body mass index in a cohort of older adults: Structural equation modeling analysis.PloS one · 2024Article
- Exploring the Relationships between Multilevel Built Environments and Commute Durations in Dual-Earner Households: Does Gender Matter?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- The mediation and interaction of the obesity index between moderate-vigorous recreational physical activity and hypertension.PloS one · 2023Article
- Is city-level travel time by car associated with individual obesity or diabetes in Latin American cities? Evidence from 178 cities in the SALURBAL project.Cities (London, England) · 2022Article
- Assessing Trade-Offs and Optimal Ranges of Density for Life Expectancy and 12 Causes of Mortality in Metro Vancouver, Canada, 1990-2016.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Mapping underweight in children using data from the five Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey data conducted between 2000 and 2019: A geospatial analysis using the Bayesian framework.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- The density paradox: Are densely-populated regions more vulnerable to Covid-19?The International journal of health planning and management · 2021Article
- GPS-based built environment measures associated with adult physical activity.Health & place · 2021Article
- Importance of Geospatial Heterogeneity in Chronic Disease Burden for Policy Planning in an Urban Setting Using a Case Study of Singapore.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Household motor vehicle ownership and obesity among Indian females and males: 2005-2016.International health · 2021Article
- Observational
- Neighborhood social reciprocity and mental health among older adults in China: the mediating effects of physical activity, social interaction, and volunteering.BMC public health · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe increasing prevalence of obesity across all age groups has become a major health concern in China. Previous studies have found strong links between population density, sedentary lifestyle, and the risk of being overweight among adults and adolescents in Western countries. However, little research has been conducted to disentangle this relationship in China, which is rapidly urbanizing and densely populated. Compared to other age groups, middle-aged and older adults tend to have a higher risk of being overweight, which increases their risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and other weight-related chronic diseases. In addition, they are especially sensitive to neighbourhood environmental factors such as population density. Therefore, we aimed to unravel the link between population density and the risk of being overweight among Chinese middle-aged and older adults, with a particular focus on the mediating role of lifestyle choices.
methodsData from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were analysed. Individuals (N = 5285) were sampled from 405 neighbourhoods nested within 150 cities. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated based on self-reported body weight and height (being overweight was defined as a BMI ≥ 24 kg/m
resultsMiddle-aged and older adults who lived in densely populated neighbourhoods had higher odds of being overweight. Further, this link was mediated by residents' mode of travel and physical exercise; specifically, these residents had higher odds of owning a car and spending lesser time on weekly physical exercise, thereby increasing their risk of being overweight. Furthermore, the association between car ownership and the odds of being overweight varied by neighbourhood population density.
conclusionsThere was a positive association between neighbourhood population density and middle-aged and older adults' risk of being overweight. This relationship may exist because people who live in densely populated neighbourhoods tend to lead a sedentary lifestyle. Our findings also suggest that, in rapidly urbanizing countries, a sedentary lifestyle may be especially harmful to middle-aged and older adults who live in densely populated neighbourhoods.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.