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The Role of Built Environment on Health of Older Adults in Korea: Obesity and Gender Differences

Author

Listed:
  • Mi Namgung

    (Department of Urban Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea)

  • B. Elizabeth Mercado Gonzalez

    (Department of Urban Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea)

  • Seungwoo Park

    (Department of Urban Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea)

Abstract

This study examines the effect of the built environment on obesity in older adults, taking into consideration gender difference. In this regard, we ask two questions: (1) How does the built environment affect obesity in older adults? (2) Is there a gender difference in the effect of the built environment? To examine the research questions, this study uses the 2015 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey and geographically weighted regression (GWR) analysis. The empirical analyses show that environmental factors have stronger effects on local obesity rates for older men than for older women, which indicates a gender difference in obesity. Based on these findings, we suggest that public health policies for obesity should consider the built environment as well as gender difference.

Suggested Citation

  • Mi Namgung & B. Elizabeth Mercado Gonzalez & Seungwoo Park, 2019. "The Role of Built Environment on Health of Older Adults in Korea: Obesity and Gender Differences," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-13, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:18:p:3486-:d:268542
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hee-Jung Jun & Mi Namgung, 2018. "Gender Difference and Spatial Heterogeneity in Local Obesity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-17, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rongrong Zhang & Song Liu & Ming Li & Xiong He & Chunshan Zhou, 2021. "The Effect of High-Density Built Environments on Elderly Individuals’ Physical Health: A Cross-Sectional Study in Guangzhou, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-22, September.

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