How Does the Neighborhood Affect Children's Health?

The project will investigate how individual and structural factors—such as parental socioeconomic status and the physical and social conditions in a neighborhood—affect health from childhood through adolescence.

Background of the Project
High body weight is a complex public health challenge that cannot be explained solely by how much we eat or exercise. Socioeconomic, structural, and environmental factors in the neighborhood—such as average income, access to green spaces, traffic conditions, and pollution—may play a significant role in the development of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents.

These are factors that often interact with a family’s socioeconomic circumstances. For example, previous studies have shown that children from resource-rich families living in disadvantaged neighborhoods face a higher risk of developing overweight compared to children from similar families living in more privileged areas.

The NICO project will therefore explore how the interaction between family and neighborhood conditions affects weight development from birth to age 18.

By analyzing data from over one million Danish children, the researchers aim to gain deeper insight into how social and environmental factors interact. The findings will contribute valuable knowledge to help create healthier environments for all children and reduce social inequality in overweight and obesity among children and youth in Denmark.

Project: Neighborhood and Individual Socioeconomic factors in Childhood and adolescent Obesity (NICO)