Objectives. We assessed whether cumulative risk exposure underlies the relation between early childhood poverty and body mass index (BMI) trajectories. Methods. We interviewed youths and their mothers in rural upstate New York (168 boys and 158 girls) from 1995 to 2006 when the youths were aged 9, 13, and 17 years. At each interview, we calculated their BMI-for-age percentile. Results. Early childhood poverty predicted BMI growth trajectories from ages 9 to 17 years (b = 3.64; SE = 1.39; P < .01). Early childhood poverty also predicted changes in cumulative risk (b = 0.31; SE = 0.08; P < .001). Cumulative risk, in turn, predicted BMI trajectories (b = 2.41; SE = 0.75; P < .01). Finally, after we controlled for cumulative risk, the effect of early childhood poverty on BMI trajectories was no longer significant, indicating that cumulative risk exposure mediated the relation between early childhood poverty and BMI trajectories (b = 2.01; SE = 0.94). Conclusions. We show for the first time that early childhood poverty leads to accelerated weight gain over the course of childhood into early adulthood. Cumulative risk exposure during childhood accounts for much of this accelerated weight gain.

Recently, an emerging body of literature has examined the relationships between early life nature exposure and mental health in later life; however, no critical synthesis yet exists regarding the extent and strength of these relationships. This study presents the first systematic review of studies in this growing area. Following the PRISMA framework, we searched six databases (i.e., Scopus, Web of Science, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL); conducted identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion analyses; and identified a final set of 29 articles. The review set comprises primarily longitudinal studies, with several cross-sectional studies using retrospective measures of childhood nature exposure. The majority of included studies were published between 2016 and 2020 and conducted in Europe and North America. Five domains of mental health outcomes are associated with early-life nature exposure: incidence of mental disorders, psychiatric symptoms and emotions, conduct problems in children, cognitive function, and subjective well-being. The evidence lends support to an overall beneficial role of early nature exposure on mental health, although inconsistencies are reported. Taken together, the evidence does not suggest that exposure at any given life stage is more saliently associated with mental health outcomes than at others. We discuss the validity concerns and methodological remedies and offer directions for future research.

This article presents a framework for considering the relevance of the physical environment to obesity. The authors adopt the notion that the “environment” constitutes the space outside the person and therefore broaden the common conceptualization of the “environment” to encompass a full spectrum from small-scale design elements to large-scale community infrastructure. An energy balance approach is also adopted. The energy balance perspective recognizes the equilibrium of food consumption and energy expenditure, rather than focusing solely on one or the other side of the equation. The authors consider how environmental characteristics present either barriers (that hinder), or supports (that promote) healthy habits. Thus, they describe a range of obesity-related environmental themes that provide opportunities for innovative collaborative research between environmental psychologists and colleagues in fields ranging from apparel design to landscape architecture. Last, conceptual and methodological considerations are briefly presented.