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Article Open Access November 14, 2024

When Common Becomes Normal: Weaker Association Between Neighborhood Stress and Body Mass Index Among Black Adolescents Compared to White Adolescents

Shervin Assari 1, 2, 3, 4,* and Hossein Zare 5, 6
1
Department of Internal Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
2
Department of Family Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
3
Department of Urban Public Health, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
4
Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns (MDRs) Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States
5
Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
6
School of Business, University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), Adelphi, MD, United States
Publihed in: Current Research in Public Health (Volume 3, Issue 1, 2024)
Page(s): 1-12
DOI: 10.31586/gjcd.2024.1121
Received
September 06, 2024
Revised
October 12, 2024
Accepted
October 22, 2024
Published
November 14, 2024
Keywords
Neighborhood Stress; Body Mass Index (BMI); Perceived Safety; Fear; Adolescents; Racial Disparities; Black Youth; White Youth; Obesity; Environmental Stressors
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright: Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Scientific Publications
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Cite This Article

APA Style
Assari, S. , & Zare, H. (2024). When Common Becomes Normal: Weaker Association Between Neighborhood Stress and Body Mass Index Among Black Adolescents Compared to White Adolescents. Current Research in Public Health, 3(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.31586/gjcd.2024.1121
ACS Style
Assari, S. ; Zare, H. When Common Becomes Normal: Weaker Association Between Neighborhood Stress and Body Mass Index Among Black Adolescents Compared to White Adolescents. Current Research in Public Health 2024 3(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.31586/gjcd.2024.1121
Chicago/Turabian Style
Assari, Shervin, and Hossein Zare. 2024. "When Common Becomes Normal: Weaker Association Between Neighborhood Stress and Body Mass Index Among Black Adolescents Compared to White Adolescents". Current Research in Public Health 3, no. 1: 1-12. https://doi.org/10.31586/gjcd.2024.1121
AMA Style
Assari S, Zare H. When Common Becomes Normal: Weaker Association Between Neighborhood Stress and Body Mass Index Among Black Adolescents Compared to White Adolescents. Current Research in Public Health. 2024; 3(1):1-12. https://doi.org/10.31586/gjcd.2024.1121 
@Article{crph1121,
AUTHOR = {Assari, Shervin and Zare, Hossein},
TITLE = {When Common Becomes Normal: Weaker Association Between Neighborhood Stress and Body Mass Index Among Black Adolescents Compared to White Adolescents},
JOURNAL = {Current Research in Public Health},
VOLUME = {3},
YEAR = {2024},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {1-12},
URL = {https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/GJCD/article/view/1121},
ISSN = {2831-5162},
DOI = {10.31586/gjcd.2024.1121},
ABSTRACT = {Objective: This study explores the relationship between neighborhood stress and Body Mass Index (BMI) in adolescents, while also examining whether this association differs between Black and White adolescents.   Methods: Data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study were analyzed using linear regression models to examine the association between neighborhood stress (defined as a composite score based on three items measuring perceived safety and neighborhood fear) and BMI in adolescents, controlling for demographic and socioeconomic variables. We tested models both with and without interaction terms to assess whether race moderated the association. Stratified analyses were conducted to further explore potential differences between Black and White adolescents.   Results: A positive association was observed between neighborhood stress and BMI across the overall sample. However, this association was weaker for Black adolescents compared to White adolescents, even after adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusions: The contribution of neighborhood stress to higher BMI in adolescents may vary by race. Our findings suggest that while neighborhood stress is associated with increased BMI, Black adolescents appear to be less affected by these stressors than their White peers. This weaker association could be due to the normalization of stress in environments where it is pervasive (what is common becomes normal) or the presence of other significant risk factors affecting BMI in Black youth, such as poverty, limited food access, food culture, and food deserts. Future research should explore processes of habituation, inoculation, or even sensitization to stress among Black populations, who are often exposed to a wide range of stressors throughout the life course.},
}
%0 Journal Article
%A Assari, Shervin
%A Zare, Hossein
%D 2024
%J Current Research in Public Health

%@ 2831-5162
%V 3
%N 1
%P 1-12

%T When Common Becomes Normal: Weaker Association Between Neighborhood Stress and Body Mass Index Among Black Adolescents Compared to White Adolescents
%M doi:10.31586/gjcd.2024.1121
%U https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/GJCD/article/view/1121

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Assari, Shervin
AU  - Zare, Hossein
TI  - When Common Becomes Normal: Weaker Association Between Neighborhood Stress and Body Mass Index Among Black Adolescents Compared to White Adolescents
T2  - Current Research in Public Health
PY  - 2024
VL  - 3
IS  - 1
SN  - 2831-5162
SP  - 1
EP  - 12
UR  - https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/GJCD/article/view/1121
AB  - Objective: This study explores the relationship between neighborhood stress and Body Mass Index (BMI) in adolescents, while also examining whether this association differs between Black and White adolescents.   Methods: Data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study were analyzed using linear regression models to examine the association between neighborhood stress (defined as a composite score based on three items measuring perceived safety and neighborhood fear) and BMI in adolescents, controlling for demographic and socioeconomic variables. We tested models both with and without interaction terms to assess whether race moderated the association. Stratified analyses were conducted to further explore potential differences between Black and White adolescents.   Results: A positive association was observed between neighborhood stress and BMI across the overall sample. However, this association was weaker for Black adolescents compared to White adolescents, even after adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusions: The contribution of neighborhood stress to higher BMI in adolescents may vary by race. Our findings suggest that while neighborhood stress is associated with increased BMI, Black adolescents appear to be less affected by these stressors than their White peers. This weaker association could be due to the normalization of stress in environments where it is pervasive (what is common becomes normal) or the presence of other significant risk factors affecting BMI in Black youth, such as poverty, limited food access, food culture, and food deserts. Future research should explore processes of habituation, inoculation, or even sensitization to stress among Black populations, who are often exposed to a wide range of stressors throughout the life course.
DO  - When Common Becomes Normal: Weaker Association Between Neighborhood Stress and Body Mass Index Among Black Adolescents Compared to White Adolescents
TI  - 10.31586/gjcd.2024.1121
ER  -