Diabetes risk higher in pedestrian-unfriendly neighbourhoods
Posted September 17, 2012 2:39 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A group of Toronto researchers have found that where you live can have an impact on your chances of developing diabetes.
The risk is higher in neighbourhoods that aren’t pedestrian friendly, a study out of St. Michael’s Hospital found.
“The community you live in influences your risk,” Dr. Gillian Booth, an endocrinologist and researcher at St. Michael’s, told CityNews.
“We know that people in suburban areas are less likely to walk and to use public transit, and they’re more likely to drive. That’s a huge impact.”
The study argues that environment should be considered along with physical activity, healthy eating and weight loss as risk factors.
Booth said that in the last 20 or 30 years, there’s been an increase in obesity in Canada, which is a major risk factor for Type 2 diabetes.
The risk is particularly high for new immigrants living in low-income neighbourhoods.
The study found that a new immigrant living in a less walkable neighbourhood was about 50 per cent more likely to develop diabetes when compared to long-term residents living in the most walkable areas, regardless of neighbourhood income.
A less walkable neighbourhood was defined as fewer destinations within a 10-minute walk, lower residential density and poorly connected streets.
“They’re going through a period of transition as well,” Booth said.
“They may be more dependent on daily activities for exercise,” she said – not necessarily gym memberships.
Past research has shown an accelerated risk of obesity-related conditions including diabetes within the first 10 years of arrival to Canada, and diabetes is also on the rise worldwide.
The study, conducted with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, was published in the journal Diabetes Care.
The study looked at data from the entire population of Toronto aged 30-64 – more than one million people – and identified those who didn’t have diabetes. It then followed them for five years to see if their risk of developing diabetes increased based on where they live.
