Abstract Body: Background: Obesity is a significant public health concern and contributes to chronic disease risk and worsening life expectancy in the US. Evidence supports adverse neighborhood conditions as contributing to and increasing the risk of having obesity. However, the impact of historic redlining as a structural marker of neighborhood environment on obesity prevalence remains understudied.
Methods: 500 Cities Project data on obesity prevalence (measured as the percentage of adults having obesity) within New York City were merged with historic redlining data from the Mapping Inequality Project and census tract-level American Community Survey demographic data. We used linear regressions to examine relationships between historic redlining scores and census tract-level obesity prevalence. We also tested whether these associations were mediated by neighborhood segregation.
Results: 1,934 census tracts in New York City were analyzed. Compared to formerly greenlined neighborhoods, blue-, yellow-, and redlined neighborhoods had an increased prevalence of obesity (β=4.34, p=0.01; β=4.65, p=0.00; β=7.28, p=<0.001, respectively). There was a similar pattern in results when modeling the percentage of a neighborhood that is Black/African American as a mediator. Compared to formerly greenlined neighborhoods, there was a positive association between redlining score and the percentage of a neighborhood that is Black/African American (bluelined: β=17.11, p=<0.001; yellowlined: β=15.57, p=<0.001; redlined: β=24.40, p=<0.001). The percentage of a neighborhood that is Black/African American was positively associated with obesity (β=0.13, p=<0.001). Indirect effects for each redlining category were significant, suggesting that the percentage of a neighborhood that is Black/African American is a partial mediator of associations between redlining and obesity prevalence in New York City.
Conclusions: Neighborhood racial composition partially mediates associations between historic redlining and contemporary obesity prevalence. This is one of the first studies to examine such associations. These findings can support the strategic investment in housing conditions and opportunities within historically redlined and formally marginalized communities in New York City.