Does the Housing Unit's Type and Size Affect Health?

Abstract

Recent medical studies have examined ways to offer more spatial planning opportunities to increase a person's level of physical activity. These studies demonstrate a decreasing prevalence of obesity in denser and less car-oriented communities with mixed land uses. Yet, apart from these environmental effects, the impact of characteristics of the housing unit itself (e.g., type and size), combined with socio-demographic variables (e.g., the number of children, marital status, place of birth, country of origin, and gender) on the body mass index (BMI) has not been examined previously. Based on a two-year longitudinal survey of the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the current study examines this potential implication based on the BMI measure. Stratification by gender indicates opposite effects of suburbanization on projected BMI of women and men, who move from smaller condominiums in multi-family buildings to single family units and to larger apartments.