Residential relocation and obesity after a natural disaster: A natural experiment from the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
Year: 2019
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Natural disasters are often associated with forced residential relocation, thereby affected people experience a change of food environment that results in the increased body mass index. However, there are a few studies that examined whether a change in food environment caused risk of obesity after a natural disaster. To address this question, we leveraged a natural experiment of residential relocation in the aftermath of the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Our baseline data came from a nationwide cohort study of older community-dwelling adults conducted 7 months prior to the disaster. By chance, one of the field sites (Iwanuma City, Miyagi Prefecture) was directly in the line of the tsunami. Approximately 2.5 years after the disaster, we ascertained the residential addresses and health status of 3,594 survivors aged 65 years or older (82.1% follow-up rate). Fixed effects multinomial logistic regression showed that shortened distances to food outlets/bars increased the risks of transitioning from BMI in the normal range (18.5-22.9) to obesity (≥25.0) (Odds ratios: 1.46 for supermarkets; 1.43 for bars; 1.44 times for fast food outlets). Radically changed food access after a natural disaster may raise the risk of obesity among older survivors.
Source: Scientific Reports
Authors: H. Hikichi, J. Aida, K. Kondo, T. Tsuboya, I. Kawachi
Language: English
Subfield: Transportation
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,790
Awards: G1408155900, G1660896532, G2065410464, General and oral health inequalities among older Japanese : social epidemiology using multilevel analyses., A cohort study on health disparities and health care costs, oral health of elderly., Study on elucidating the generation process of inequality in well-being and social capital among older people, G3382920997, The longitudinal study on the social determinants of health of older adults in Japan, Effects of social determinants before- and after- the disaster on oral and general health, G393839429, G440584010, G4565720053, G4856248309, G4967677775, Impact of social cohesion on functional recovery after earthquake and tsunami, G6393318808, G6513738627, G6975022342, G7321932829, G7851677652, Study on well-being disparities as results of social exclusion and social capital, G8133962950, G8875024816
OpenAlex ID: W2914528392