Can Neighborhood Walkability be Associated with Gestational Diabetes?

Researchers from Columbia University had previously demonstrated that increased neighborhood walkability decreases the risk of gestational weight gain in pregnant women. 1 Now, the same team has investigated whether neighborhood walkability changes the risk of developing gestational diabetes (GD) in pregnant women. 2 The team analyzed the density of walkable destinations (DWD) and neighborhood walkability index (NWI) score along with the risk of GD in 109,863 births registered in New York City in 2015.

Increased scores of NWI and DWD were associated with decreased risk of GD in pregnant women by a risk ratio of 0.81 and 0.77, respectively. The study emphasized that higher neighborhood walkability can reduce the risk of GD in pregnant women. In addition, the study also suggested that urban design policies should focus on increasing  the neighborhood walkability to improve the physical…