Women’s Cancer Risk Decreases in Walkable Neighborhoods.
Promoting Well-being: Residing in a Walkable Neighborhood Could Benefit Women’s Health.
Recent studies reveal that women residing in pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods experience reduced occurrences of cancers associated with obesity. Researchers from various New York City universities observed this trend, especially in the case of post menopausal breast cancer, but also in ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, and multiple myeloma.
“These findings add to the expanding body of research demonstrating the impact of urban planning on the health and overall welfare of aging communities,” stated Andrew Rundle, an epidemiology professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
The researchers observed that individual interventions aimed at boosting physical activity and curbing obesity can be expensive and typically yield short-lived results.
“Nevertheless, urban planning can establish an environment conducive to walking, elevate general physical activity levels, and reduce reliance on automobiles, potentially resulting in subsequent enhancements in preventing diseases associated with unhealthy weight,” emphasized Rundle in a Columbia news statement.
Previous studies have associated obesity with an elevated risk of 13 different types of cancer in women, irrespective of body size, with physical activity playing a role in reducing the risk for certain cancer types.
The research encompassed information from over 14,000 women aged 35 to 65, who were enrolled at a mammography screening center in New York City during the period from 1985 to 1991.
Over a span of three decades, the researchers tracked these women’s progress, gauging the walkability of their neighborhoods based on U.S. Census tracts. The research team evaluated the correlation between neighborhood walkability and the risk of cancers related to obesity.
As of the conclusion of 2016, approximately 18% of the women had experienced their initial episode of an obesity-related cancer. The most prevalent among them was postmenopausal breast cancer, accounting for 53% of cases, followed by colon cancer at 14%, and endometrial cancer at 12%.
“Our study stands out due to its extended follow-up period, enabling us to investigate the impact of walkability on cancers with potentially long incubation periods. Additionally, we were able to assess neighborhood walkability as participants relocated across the country during the follow-up period,” explained study co-author Yu Chen from NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
The research uncovered that women who resided in the most pedestrian-friendly localities (the top 25%) exhibited a 26% reduced likelihood of obesity-related cancers when compared to those dwelling in the least walkable neighborhoods (the lowest 25%).
This study, supported by funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, was published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal on October 3.
Lead study author Sandra India-Aldana, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, remarked, “Furthermore, we noted that the connection between heightened neighborhood walkability and a decreased risk of overall obesity-related cancers was more pronounced for women residing in areas with elevated poverty levels. These findings imply that the social and economic conditions of neighborhoods are also pertinent to the risk of developing obesity-related cancers.”
