Cumulative residential greenness and childhood body mass index

Davies, Jo; Griffiths, Lucy; Pouliou, Dora; Bailey, Rowena; Fry, Rich; Lyons, Ronan; Stratton, Gareth; Mizen, Amy

doi:10.1097/ee9.0000000000000421

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Cumulative residential greenness and childhood body mass index

Jo Davies, Lucy Griffiths

, Dora Pouliou

, Rowena Bailey, Rich Fry

, Ronan Lyons, Gareth Stratton

, Amy Mizen

Environmental Epidemiology, Volume: 9, Issue: 5, Start page: e421

Swansea University Authors: Jo Davies, Lucy Griffiths , Dora Pouliou , Rowena Bailey, Rich Fry , Ronan Lyons, Gareth Stratton , Amy Mizen

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DOI (Published version): 10.1097/ee9.0000000000000421

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity is a complex and multifaceted public health issue. Several studies have found that children living in greener neighborhoods have a lower body mass index (BMI); however, evidence on longitudinal exposure remains limited. This study examined the relationship between Enhan...

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Published in:	Environmental Epidemiology
ISSN:	2474-7882
Published:	Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) 2025
Online Access:	Check full text
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70261

first_indexed	2025-09-04T14:52:19Z
last_indexed	2025-09-30T08:56:15Z
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Several studies have found that children living in greener neighborhoods have a lower body mass index (BMI); however, evidence on longitudinal exposure remains limited. This study examined the relationship between Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), green space, and children’s weight status using linked environmental and national health data.Methods: We derived annual EVI values from Landsat 8 satellite imagery (30 m resolution) within 300 m of a child’s residence in Wales from 2008 to 2019. Mean EVI exposure was calculated for the 4 years preceding BMI measurement. We utilized 2017 Ordnance Survey Open Greenspace data to identify green spaces within 800 m of a child’s residence. BMI obtained from the Child Measurement Programme for Wales (2012/13 to 2018/19) for children aged 4–5 years was used to define healthy versus overweight/obesity. We used logistic regression to evaluate associations between residential greenness, green spaces, and childhood weight status.Results: The final cohort consisted of 200,237 children. A one-unit increase in EVI was associated with a 20% higher likelihood of being overweight or obese (OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.37). For every additional green space within 800 m, the likelihood of having an unhealthy weight increased by 0.3%.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that EVI and access to green spaces should be interpreted with care, as they may not capture how young children interact with nearby green environments. Future work investigating the impact of greenness and greenspace on child weight status should use measures tailored to more accurately represent age-specific behaviors.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>Environmental Epidemiology</journal><volume>9</volume><journalNumber>5</journalNumber><paginationStart>e421</paginationStart><paginationEnd/><publisher>Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic>2474-7882</issnElectronic><keywords/><publishedDay>25</publishedDay><publishedMonth>9</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2025</publishedYear><publishedDate>2025-09-25</publishedDate><doi>10.1097/ee9.0000000000000421</doi><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Medical School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>MEDS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm>External research funder(s) paid the OA fee (includes OA grants disbursed by the Library)</apcterm><funders>MRC (MR/T039329/1)</funders><projectreference/><lastEdited>2025-09-29T16:51:44.7392307</lastEdited><Created>2025-09-04T15:41:28.1982229</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences</level><level id="2">Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Jo</firstname><surname>Davies</surname><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Lucy</firstname><surname>Griffiths</surname><orcid>0000-0001-9230-624X</orcid><order>2</order></author><author><firstname>Dora</firstname><surname>Pouliou</surname><orcid>0000-0002-1162-1174</orcid><order>3</order></author><author><firstname>Rowena</firstname><surname>Bailey</surname><order>4</order></author><author><firstname>Rich</firstname><surname>Fry</surname><orcid>0000-0002-7968-6679</orcid><order>5</order></author><author><firstname>Ronan</firstname><surname>Lyons</surname><order>6</order></author><author><firstname>Gareth</firstname><surname>Stratton</surname><orcid>0000-0001-5618-0803</orcid><order>7</order></author><author><firstname>Amy</firstname><surname>Mizen</surname><orcid>0000-0001-7516-6767</orcid><order>8</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>70261__35204__ab29e81da14847969e86406dd011a3b1.pdf</filename><originalFilename>70261.VoR.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2025-09-29T16:47:08.7355901</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>728906</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Version of Record</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><documentNotes>Copyright © 2025 The Authors. 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spelling	2025-09-29T16:51:44.7392307 v2 70261 2025-09-04 Cumulative residential greenness and childhood body mass index 428483ed0603507e3c895f551134411e Jo Davies Jo Davies true false e35ea6ea4b429e812ef204b048131d93 0000-0001-9230-624X Lucy Griffiths Lucy Griffiths true false f5b36a43fba4d0e04b23251dc2717186 0000-0002-1162-1174 Dora Pouliou Dora Pouliou true false 455e2c1e6193448f6269b9e72acaf865 Rowena Bailey Rowena Bailey true false d499b898d447b62c81b2c122598870e0 0000-0002-7968-6679 Rich Fry Rich Fry true false 83efcf2a9dfcf8b55586999d3d152ac6 Ronan Lyons Ronan Lyons true false 6d62b2ed126961bed81a94a2beba8a01 0000-0001-5618-0803 Gareth Stratton Gareth Stratton true false 9e9db8229784e27fcd79a14ee097e10b 0000-0001-7516-6767 Amy Mizen Amy Mizen true false 2025-09-04 MEDS Background: Childhood obesity is a complex and multifaceted public health issue. Several studies have found that children living in greener neighborhoods have a lower body mass index (BMI); however, evidence on longitudinal exposure remains limited. This study examined the relationship between Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), green space, and children’s weight status using linked environmental and national health data.Methods: We derived annual EVI values from Landsat 8 satellite imagery (30 m resolution) within 300 m of a child’s residence in Wales from 2008 to 2019. Mean EVI exposure was calculated for the 4 years preceding BMI measurement. We utilized 2017 Ordnance Survey Open Greenspace data to identify green spaces within 800 m of a child’s residence. BMI obtained from the Child Measurement Programme for Wales (2012/13 to 2018/19) for children aged 4–5 years was used to define healthy versus overweight/obesity. We used logistic regression to evaluate associations between residential greenness, green spaces, and childhood weight status.Results: The final cohort consisted of 200,237 children. A one-unit increase in EVI was associated with a 20% higher likelihood of being overweight or obese (OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.37). For every additional green space within 800 m, the likelihood of having an unhealthy weight increased by 0.3%.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that EVI and access to green spaces should be interpreted with care, as they may not capture how young children interact with nearby green environments. Future work investigating the impact of greenness and greenspace on child weight status should use measures tailored to more accurately represent age-specific behaviors. Journal Article Environmental Epidemiology 9 5 e421 Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) 2474-7882 25 9 2025 2025-09-25 10.1097/ee9.0000000000000421 COLLEGE NANME Medical School COLLEGE CODE MEDS Swansea University External research funder(s) paid the OA fee (includes OA grants disbursed by the Library) MRC (MR/T039329/1) 2025-09-29T16:51:44.7392307 2025-09-04T15:41:28.1982229 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science Jo Davies 1 Lucy Griffiths 0000-0001-9230-624X 2 Dora Pouliou 0000-0002-1162-1174 3 Rowena Bailey 4 Rich Fry 0000-0002-7968-6679 5 Ronan Lyons 6 Gareth Stratton 0000-0001-5618-0803 7 Amy Mizen 0000-0001-7516-6767 8 70261__35204__ab29e81da14847969e86406dd011a3b1.pdf 70261.VoR.pdf 2025-09-29T16:47:08.7355901 Output 728906 application/pdf Version of Record true Copyright © 2025 The Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY). true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title	Cumulative residential greenness and childhood body mass index
spellingShingle	Cumulative residential greenness and childhood body mass index Jo Davies Lucy Griffiths Dora Pouliou Rowena Bailey Rich Fry Ronan Lyons Gareth Stratton Amy Mizen
title_short	Cumulative residential greenness and childhood body mass index
title_full	Cumulative residential greenness and childhood body mass index
title_fullStr	Cumulative residential greenness and childhood body mass index
title_full_unstemmed	Cumulative residential greenness and childhood body mass index
title_sort	Cumulative residential greenness and childhood body mass index
author_id_str_mv	428483ed0603507e3c895f551134411e e35ea6ea4b429e812ef204b048131d93 f5b36a43fba4d0e04b23251dc2717186 455e2c1e6193448f6269b9e72acaf865 d499b898d447b62c81b2c122598870e0 83efcf2a9dfcf8b55586999d3d152ac6 6d62b2ed126961bed81a94a2beba8a01 9e9db8229784e27fcd79a14ee097e10b
author_id_fullname_str_mv	428483ed0603507e3c895f551134411e_*_Jo Davies e35ea6ea4b429e812ef204b048131d93__Lucy Griffiths f5b36a43fba4d0e04b23251dc2717186__Dora Pouliou 455e2c1e6193448f6269b9e72acaf865__Rowena Bailey d499b898d447b62c81b2c122598870e0__Rich Fry 83efcf2a9dfcf8b55586999d3d152ac6__Ronan Lyons 6d62b2ed126961bed81a94a2beba8a01__Gareth Stratton 9e9db8229784e27fcd79a14ee097e10b_*_Amy Mizen
author	Jo Davies Lucy Griffiths Dora Pouliou Rowena Bailey Rich Fry Ronan Lyons Gareth Stratton Amy Mizen
author2	Jo Davies Lucy Griffiths Dora Pouliou Rowena Bailey Rich Fry Ronan Lyons Gareth Stratton Amy Mizen
format	Journal article
container_title	Environmental Epidemiology
container_volume	9
container_issue	5
container_start_page	e421
publishDate	2025
institution	Swansea University
issn	2474-7882
doi_str_mv	10.1097/ee9.0000000000000421
publisher	Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
college_str	Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id	facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title	Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id	facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title	Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str	Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science
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description	Background: Childhood obesity is a complex and multifaceted public health issue. Several studies have found that children living in greener neighborhoods have a lower body mass index (BMI); however, evidence on longitudinal exposure remains limited. This study examined the relationship between Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), green space, and children’s weight status using linked environmental and national health data.Methods: We derived annual EVI values from Landsat 8 satellite imagery (30 m resolution) within 300 m of a child’s residence in Wales from 2008 to 2019. Mean EVI exposure was calculated for the 4 years preceding BMI measurement. We utilized 2017 Ordnance Survey Open Greenspace data to identify green spaces within 800 m of a child’s residence. BMI obtained from the Child Measurement Programme for Wales (2012/13 to 2018/19) for children aged 4–5 years was used to define healthy versus overweight/obesity. We used logistic regression to evaluate associations between residential greenness, green spaces, and childhood weight status.Results: The final cohort consisted of 200,237 children. A one-unit increase in EVI was associated with a 20% higher likelihood of being overweight or obese (OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.37). For every additional green space within 800 m, the likelihood of having an unhealthy weight increased by 0.3%.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that EVI and access to green spaces should be interpreted with care, as they may not capture how young children interact with nearby green environments. Future work investigating the impact of greenness and greenspace on child weight status should use measures tailored to more accurately represent age-specific behaviors.
published_date	2025-09-25T14:18:12Z
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Cumulative residential greenness and childhood body mass index

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