College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 S Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60612. Email:
Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Healthcare, Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, Hines, Illinois.
Prev Chronic Dis. 2017 Nov 9;14:E111. doi: 10.5888/pcd14.160590.
Among the nearly 21 million military veterans living in the United States, 64.0% of women and 76.1% of men are overweight or obese, higher rates than in the civilian population (56.9% of women and 69.9% of men). Attributes of the residential environment are linked to obesity. The objective of this study was to characterize the residential environments of the US veteran population with respect to availability of food and recreational venues.
We used American Community Survey data to determine the concentration of veterans (the percentage of veterans among the adult population) in all continental US census tracts in 2013, and we used proprietary data to construct measures of availability of food and recreational venues per census tract. Using descriptive statistics and ordinary least-squares regression, we examined associations between the concentration of veterans per census tract and those residential environmental features.
In census tracts with high concentrations of veterans, residents had, on average, 0.5 (interquartile range, 0-0.8) supermarkets within a 1-mile radius, while residents in census tracts with low concentrations of veterans had 3.2 (interquartile range, 0.6-3.7) supermarkets. Patterns were similar for grocery and convenience stores, fast food restaurants, parks, and commercial fitness facilities. In adjusted analyses controlling for census-tract-level covariates, veteran concentration remained strongly negatively associated with availability of those food and recreational venues. In nonmetropolitan tracts, adjusted associations were greatly attenuated and even positive.
Where veterans live is strongly associated with availability of food outlets providing healthy (and unhealthy) foods and with recreational venues, raising questions about the contributions of veterans' residential environments to their high obesity rates. Additional research is needed to address those questions.
在美国近 2100 万的退伍军人中，有 64.0%的女性和 76.1%的男性超重或肥胖，高于平民人口（女性 56.9%和男性 69.9%）。居住环境的属性与肥胖有关。本研究的目的是描述美国退伍军人的居住环境，特别是食物和娱乐场所的可获得性。
我们使用美国社区调查数据来确定 2013 年所有美国大陆普查区退伍军人的集中程度（退伍军人在成年人口中的百分比），并使用专有数据来构建每个普查区的食物和娱乐场所的可用性的衡量标准。使用描述性统计和普通最小二乘法回归，我们研究了普查区退伍军人集中程度与这些居住环境特征之间的关联。
在退伍军人集中程度高的普查区，居民平均在 1 英里半径范围内有 0.5 家（四分位距，0-0.8）超市，而退伍军人集中程度低的普查区居民有 3.2 家（四分位距，0.6-3.7）超市。杂货店和便利店、快餐店、公园和商业健身设施的模式相似。在控制了普查区层面协变量的调整分析中，退伍军人的集中程度与这些食物和娱乐场所的供应仍然呈强烈负相关。在非大都市地区，调整后的关联大大减弱，甚至呈正相关。
退伍军人居住的地方与提供健康（和不健康）食品的食品店和娱乐场所的供应密切相关，这引发了关于退伍军人居住环境对其高肥胖率的贡献的问题。需要进一步研究来解决这些问题。
