Evaluating the contribution of the built environment on obesity among New York state students

Objectives. One third of school-aged children in New York State (NYS) are overweight or obese, with large geographic disparities across local regions. We used NYS student obesity surveillance data to assess whether these geographical variations are attributable to the built environment. Method. We combined NYS Student Weight Status Category Reporting System 2010-2012 data with other government publicly available data. Ordinary least squares regression models identified key determinants of school district–level student obesity rates for elementary and middle/high schools. Geographical weighted regression models explored spatial variations in local coefficients of the built environment predictors. Results. From ordinary least squares models, higher farmers’ market density was only significantly associated with lower obesity rates among elementary school students (b = −0.116; p < .01). Higher fast-food restaurant density was significantly associated with higher obesity rates (b = 0.014; p < .05), and higher ...