Study: Moving to a Better Neighborhood Lowers Obesity and Diabetes Risk

Low-income mothers who move from very poor neighborhoods to less disadvantaged ones lower their risk of becoming extremely obese and developing type 2 diabetes, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on October 20, 2011 reveals.

The study — "Neighborhoods, Obesity, and Diabetes — A Randomized Social Experiment" — was the first to use a randomized experimental design to test how neighborhood poverty affects health. It was led by Jens Ludwig, McCormick Foundation Professor of Social Service Administration, Law and Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

The research followed 4,498 low-income families with children who, between 1994 and 1998, enrolled in a federal housing program called Moving to Opportunity. Run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in five cities — Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York — the program offered families in distressed public housing a chance, through a random lottery, to use a rent-subsidy voucher to move to a lower-poverty community. Other families were randomly assigned to a control group that received no such assistance.

Researchers measured participants' heights, weights and blood samples a decade later, during 2008–2010. The women who had been offered vouchers showed notably lower rates of extreme obesity and diabetes than those in the control group.

"This research shows how important the environment can be for people's health," Ludwig said.

Source: University of Chicago Medicine, October 19, 2011.