Objectives. We investigated the association between physical and social neighborhood environments and fifth-grade students’ physical activity and obesity. Methods. We collected data on 650 children and their primary caregivers during phase 1 of Healthy Passages, a multisite, community-based, cross-sectional study of health risk behaviors and health outcomes in children. We conducted independent systematic neighborhood observations to measure neighborhood physical characteristics, and we analyzed survey data on social processes. We modeled children's physical activity and obesity status with structural equation models that included latent variables for the physical and social environments. Results. After we controlled for children's sociodemographic factors, we found that a favorable social environment was positively associated with several measures of physical activity and that physical activity was negatively associated with obesity in these children. Physical environment was not significantly associated with physical activity. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that neighborhood social factors as well as the physical environment should be considered in the development of health policy and interventions to reduce childhood obesity.

For many health-related behaviors and outcomes, racial and ethnic disparities among adolescents are well documented, but less is known about health-related disparities during preadolescence. We studied 5119 randomly selected public-school fifth-graders and their parents in three metropolitan areas in the United States. We examined differences among black, Latino, and white children on 16 measures, including witnessing of violence, peer victimization, perpetration of aggression, seat-belt use, bike-helmet use, substance use, discrimination, terrorism worries, vigorous exercise, obesity, and self-rated health status and psychological and physical quality of life. We tested potential mediators of racial and ethnic disparities (i.e., sociodemographic characteristics and the child's school) using partially adjusted models. There were significant differences between black children and white children for all 16 measures and between Latino children and white children for 12 of 16 measures, although adjusted analyses reduced many of these disparities. For example, in unadjusted analysis, the rate of witnessing a threat or injury with a gun was higher among blacks (20%) and Latinos (11%) than among whites (5%), and the number of days per week on which the student performed vigorous exercise was lower among blacks (3.56 days) and Latinos (3.77 days) than among whites (4.33 days) (P<0.001 for all comparisons). After statistical adjustment, these differences were reduced by about half between blacks and whites and were eliminated between Latinos and whites. Household income, household highest education level, and the child's school were the most substantial mediators of racial and ethnic disparities. We found that harmful health behaviors, experiences, and outcomes were more common among black children and Latino children than among white children. Adjustment for socioeconomic status and the child's school substantially reduced most of these differences. Interventions that address potentially detrimental consequences of low socioeconomic status and adverse school environments may help reduce racial and ethnic differences in child health. (Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

OBJECTIVE: To determine how early puberty and peer deviance relate to trajectories of aggressive and delinquent behavior in early adolescence and whether these relationships differ by race/ethnicity. METHODS: In this longitudinal study, 2607 girls from 3 metropolitan areas and their parents were interviewed at ages 11, 13, and 16 years. Girls reported on their age of onset of menarche, best friend’s deviant behavior, delinquency, and physical, relational, and nonphysical aggression. Parents provided information on family sociodemographic characteristics and girls’ race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Sixteen percent of girls were classified as early maturers (defined by onset of menarche before age 11 years). Overall, relational and nonphysical aggression increased from age 11 to age 16, whereas delinquency and physical aggression remained stable. Early puberty was associated with elevated delinquency and physical aggression at age 11. The relationship with early puberty diminished over time for physical aggression but not for delinquency. Best friend’s deviant behavior was linked with higher levels of all problem behaviors, but the effect lessened over time for most outcomes. Early puberty was associated with a stronger link between best friend’s deviance and delinquency, suggesting increased vulnerability to negative peer influences among early-maturing girls. A similar vulnerability was observed for relational and nonphysical aggression among girls in the “other” racial/ethnic minority group only. CONCLUSIONS: Early puberty and friends’ deviance may increase the risk of problem behavior in young adolescent girls. Although many of these associations dissipate over time, early-maturing girls are at risk of persistently higher delinquency and stronger negative peer influences.

This study examined the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity risk during early adolescence, ages 10-13 years, and whether this association is present in different racial/ethnic and gender groups during 2 time points in early adolescence. Data were from the Healthy Passages study, which enrolled 4,824 African American, Hispanic, and White 5th graders (ages 10-11) in a population-based, longitudinal study conducted in 3 U.S. metropolitan areas, and assessed them again 2 years later. Weight status was classified from measured body mass index using standard criteria into nonobese and obese (27% in 5th grade). SES was indexed based on highest education attainment in the household. Youth in the highest SES had a significantly lower prevalence of obesity than those of lower SES at both 5th and 7th grades when disregarding race/ethnicity. Within-racial/ethnic group analyses mostly confirmed this pattern for Hispanic and White youth, but not for African American youth. When also considering gender, the SES differential in obesity risk was more pronounced among White girls and 5th-grade Hispanic boys. Growing up in a high SES home, marked by having a member with at least a college degree, is associated with lower risk for obesity among Hispanic and White youth. For African American youth, there appears to be no association between SES and obesity. Thus the health advantage generally attributed to higher SES does not appear consistently across racial/ethnic groups for obesity in youth. Further research should identify influences on weight status beyond SES, especially among African American youth.