ORCID Profile
0000-0003-1821-1087
Current Organisation
Deakin University
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-2019
DOI: 10.1186/S12966-019-0898-Y
Abstract: Increasing emphasis has been placed on improving physical activity levels through multilevel interventions. This study aims to examine moderating effects of neighborhood safety (crime and traffic) and social support (from parent and sibling eer) for physical activity in the relationship between the built environment and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) outside school hours among adolescents in Melbourne. Data were from the NEighbourhood Activity in Youth study conducted among adolescents in Melbourne, Australia ( n = 358, 15.3 (SD = 1.5) years). MVPA outside school hours was assessed by accelerometer. Built environment features within 1 km and 2 km residential buffers including recreation facilities, park area, and walkability and its components were assessed using Geographic Information Systems. Neighborhood safety, social support for physical activity and sociodemographic information were self-reported by adolescents. Multilevel linear regression models were used to estimate associations. Support for physical activity from sibling eer positively moderated the relationship between recreation facilities (1 km), residential density (2 km) and MVPA. Recreation facility (count within 2 km), walkability (1 km and 2 km) and residential density (1 km) had significant positive associations with MVPA outside school hours. The built environment appeared to have stronger facilitating effects on MVPA among adolescents who had favourable support for physical activity from their sibling or peer. Multilevel interventions that target the built environment and social factors are needed to promote MVPA outside school hours among adolescents.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 04-06-2019
Abstract: Within a city, gender differences in walking for recreation (WfR) vary significantly across neighbourhoods, although the reasons remain unknown. This cross-sectional study investigated the contribution of the social environment (SE) to explaining such variation, using 2009 data from the How Areas in Brisbane Influence healTh and AcTivity (HABITAT) study, including 7866 residents aged 42–67 years within 200 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia (72.6% response rate). The analytical s le comprised 200 neighbourhoods and 6643 participants (mean 33 per neighbourhood, range 8–99, 95% CI 30.6–35.8). Self-reported weekly minutes of WfR were categorised into 0 and 1–840 mins. The SE was conceptualised through neighbourhood-level perceptions of social cohesion, incivilities and safety from crime. Analyses included multilevel binomial logistic regression with gender as main predictor, adjusting for age, socioeconomic position, residential self-selection and neighbourhood disadvantage. On average, women walked more for recreation than men prior to adjustment for covariates. Gender differences in WfR varied significantly across neighbourhoods, and the magnitude of the variation for women was twice that of men. The SE did not explain neighbourhood differences in the gender–WfR relationship, nor the between-neighbourhood variation in WfR for men or women. Neighbourhood-level factors seem to influence the WfR of men and women differently, with women being more sensitive to their environment, although Brisbane’s SE did not seem such a factor.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2014
Abstract: The aim of this study is to determine the validity of self-reported cancer data by comparing it to the Australian Cancer Database (ACD). Self-reported data were obtained from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study, which were then linked to the ACD up until 31 December 2010. Positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity and specificity were calculated. Cohen's kappa coefficient (ĸ) was also calculated to assess the agreement between self-reported cancer and the ACD. Logistic regression was used to examine the determinants associated with false negative and false positive reporting. The overall sensitivity of self-report cancer was 71.1%, and sensitivities showed great variation by cancer site. Higher sensitivities were observed for breast (90.7%), bowel (77.8%) and prostate (77.1%) cancers, whereas the lowest sensitivity was observed for melanoma of the skin (36.9%). Similarly, the kappa coefficient analysis showed substantial agreement for self-reported breast cancer (ĸ=0.79) and moderate agreement for melanoma (ĸ=0.45) against the ACD. Years since cancer diagnosis and older age were associated with false negative reporting and older age was associated with false positive reporting. The use of self-reported cancer to collect cancer outcomes has varying reliability, depending on cancer type and population. The findings presented here may assist medical researchers in making informed decisions when conducting research using self-reported cancer data in Australia where the acquisition of registry data is not feasible.
Publisher: Human Kinetics
Date: 08-2018
Abstract: Residents of more socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely to report poorer physical function, although the reasons for this remain unknown. It is possible that neighborhood-level perceptions of safety from crime contribute to this relationship through its association with walking for recreation. Data were obtained from the fourth wave (collected in 2013) of the HABITAT (How Areas in Brisbane Influence HealTh and AcTivity) multilevel longitudinal study of middle- to older-aged adults (46-74 y) residing in 200 neighborhoods in Brisbane, Australia. The data were analyzed separately for men (n = 2190) and women (n = 2977) using multilevel models. Residents of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods had poorer physical function, perceived their neighborhoods to be less safe from crime, and do less walking for recreation. These factors accounted for differences in physical function between disadvantaged and advantaged neighborhoods (24% for men and 25% for women). This study highlights the importance of contextual characteristics, through their associations with behaviors, that can have in explaining the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and physical function. Interventions aimed at improving neighborhood safety integrated with supportive environments for physical activity may have positive impact on physical function among all socioeconomic groups.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.HEALTHPLACE.2019.01.020
Abstract: Residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods have poorer physical function than their advantaged counterparts, although the reasons for this remain largely unknown. We examined the moderating effects of walkability in the relationship between neighbourhood disadvantage and physical function using 2013 cross-sectional data from 5115 in iduals aged 46-72 living in 200 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia. The relationship between neighbourhood disadvantage and physical function differed by levels of walkability: positive associations as levels of walkability increased for those living in more disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and no difference for those living in more advantaged neighbourhoods. Further work is required to better understand the underlying mechanisms.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.HEALTHPLACE.2019.05.015
Abstract: This systematic review included 23 quantitative studies that estimated associations between aspects of the neighbourhood built environment and physical function among adults aged ≥45 years. Findings were analysed according to nine aspects of the neighbourhood built environment: walkability, residential density, street connectivity, land use mix, public transport, pedestrian infrastructure, aesthetics, safety and traffic. Evidence was found for a positive association of pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetics with physical function, while weaker evidence was found for land use mix, and safety from crime and traffic. There was an insufficient number of studies for walkability, residential density, street connectivity and access to public transport.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.YPMED.2016.05.007
Abstract: Understanding associations between physical function and neighborhood disadvantage may provide insights into which interventions might best contribute to reducing socioeconomic inequalities in health. This study examines associations between neighborhood-disadvantage, in idual-level socioeconomic position (SEP) and physical function from a multilevel perspective. Data were obtained from the HABITAT multilevel longitudinal (2007-13) study of middle-aged adults, using data from the fourth wave (2013). This investigation included 6004 residents (age 46-71years) of 535 neighborhoods in Brisbane, Australia. Physical function was measured using the PF-10 (0-100), with higher scores indicating better function. The data were analyzed using multilevel linear regression and were extended to test for cross-level interactions by including interaction terms for different combinations of SEP (education, occupation, household income) and neighborhood disadvantage on physical function. Residents of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods reported significantly lower physical function (men: β -11.36 95% CI -13.74, -8.99 women: β -11.41 95% CI -13.60, -9.22). These associations remained after adjustment for in idual-level SEP. In iduals with no post-school education, those permanently unable to work, and members of the lowest household income had significantly poorer physical function. Cross-level interactions suggested that the relationship between household income and physical function is different across levels of neighborhood disadvantage for men and for education and occupation for women. Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood was negatively associated with physical function after adjustment for in idual-level SEP. These results may assist in the development of policy-relevant targeted interventions to delay the rate of physical function decline at a community-level.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 11-10-2021
DOI: 10.1017/S1368980021004298
Abstract: Despite the increased attention on neighbourhood food environments and dietary behaviours, studies focusing on adolescents are limited. This study aims to characterise typologies of food environments surrounding adolescents and their associations with fast food outlet visitation and snack food purchasing to/from school. The number of food outlets (supermarket green grocers butcher/seafood/deli bakeries convenience stores fast food/takeaways café and restaurants) within a 1 km buffer from home was determined using a Geographic Information System. Adolescents’ self-reported frequency of fast food outlet visitation and snack food purchasing to/from school. Latent Profile Analysis was conducted to identify typologies of the food environment. Cross-sectional multilevel logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between food typologies, fast food outlet visitations and snack food purchasing to/from school. Melbourne, Australia. Totally, 410 adolescents (mean age= 15·5 ( sd = 1·5) years). Four distinct typologies of food outlets were identified: (1) limited variety/low number (2) some variety/low number (3) high variety/medium number and (4) high variety/high number. Adolescents living in Typologies 1 and 2 had three times higher odds of visiting fast food outlets ≥1 per week (Typology 1: OR = 3·71, 95 % CI 1·23, 11·19 Typology 2: OR = 3·65, 95 % CI 1·21, 10·99) than those living in Typology 4. No evidence of association was found between typologies of the food environments and snack food purchasing behaviour to/from school among adolescents. Local government could emphasise an overall balance of food outlets when designing neighbourhoods to reduce propensity for fast food outlet visitation among adolescents.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-05-2015
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 20-09-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.YPMED.2016.06.034
Abstract: Limitations have arisen when measuring associations between the neighbourhood social environment and physical activity, including same-source bias, and the reliability of aggregated neighbourhood-level social environment measures. This study examines cross-sectional associations between the neighbourhood social environment (perceptions of incivilities, crime, and social cohesion) and self-reported physical activity, while accounting for same-source bias and reliability of neighbourhood-level exposure measures, using data from a large population-based clustered s le. This investigation included 11,035 residents aged 40-65years from 200 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia, in 2007. Respondents self-reported their physical activity and perceptions of the social environment (neighbourhood incivilities, crime and safety, and social cohesion). Models were adjusted for in idual-level education, occupation, and household income, and neighbourhood disadvantage. Exposure measures were generated via split clusters and an empirical Bayes estimation procedure. Data were analysed in 2016 using multilevel multinomial logistic regression. Residents of neighbourhoods with the highest incivilities and crime, and lowest social cohesion were reference categories. In iduals were more likely to be in the higher physical activity categories if they were in neighbourhoods with the lowest incivilities and the lowest crime. No associations were found between social cohesion and physical activity. This study provides a basis from which to gain a clearer understanding of the relationship between the neighbourhood social environment and in idual physical activity. Further work is required to explore the pathways between perceptions of the neighbourhood social environment and physical activity.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 18-02-2020
Abstract: Without accurate awareness of features within the built environment, the availability of a supportive built environment alone may not be sufficient to influence physical activity levels. We examined the moderating effects of concordance/discordance between selected objective and perceived built environment features in the relationship between objective built environment features and physical activity. Cross-sectional data from 465 youth aged 12–20 years from 18 schools in Melbourne, Australia were used. The relationship between trails and physical activity differed by concordance/discordance. There were positive relationships among those with concordant perceptions, but no significant differences for those with discordant perceptions. At least for trails, environmental interventions designed to enhance physical activity may be less effective if efforts are not made to enhance in iduals’ awareness of their environment.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.YPMED.2017.11.030
Abstract: Population monitoring of obesity is most commonly conducted using body mass index (BMI). We test the hypothesis that because of increases in waist circumference (WC) independent of increases in weight, BMI alone detects an increasingly smaller proportion of the population with obesity. Australian adults with measured height, weight, and WC were selected from three nationally representative cross-sectional surveys (1989, 1999-2000, 2011-12 n=8313, 5903 & 3904). Participants were defined as having obesity using classifications for an obese BMI (≥30kg·m Between 1989 and 2011-12, weight and WC increased by 5.4kg and 10.7cm (women), and by 7.0kg and 7.3cm (men). For women and men, 63% and 38% of increases in WC were independent of increases in weight. Over this period, the prevalence of obesity according to BMI and/or WC increased by 25.3 percentage-points for women (18.9% to 44.3%) and 21.1 percentage-points for men (17.1% to 38.2%). The proportion of these detected by BMI decreased for women by 20 percentage-points (77% to 57%) with no change for men. The proportion of these detected by WC increased for women and men by 10 percentage-points (87% to 97%) and 6 percentage-points (85% to 91%) respectively. BMI alone is detecting a decreasing proportion of those considered obese by BMI and/or WC. Renewed discussion regarding how we monitor obesity at the population level is required.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 16-05-2016
DOI: 10.1017/S136898001600104X
Abstract: A tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) has been proposed to address population weight gain but the effect across socio-economic position (SEP) is unclear. The current study aimed to clarify the differential impact(s) of SSB taxes on beverage purchases and consumption, weight outcomes and the amount paid in SSB taxes according to SEP. Databases (OVID and EMBASE) and grey literature were systematically searched in June 2015 to identify studies that examined effects of an SSB price increase on beverage purchases or consumption, weight outcomes or the amount paid in tax across SEP, within high-income countries. Of the eleven included articles, three study types were identified: (i) those that examined the association between variation in SSB taxes and SSB consumption and/or body weight ( n 3) (ii) price elasticity estimation of SSB demand ( n 1) and (iii) modelling of hypothetical SSB taxes by combining price elasticity estimates with population SEP-specific beverage consumption, energy intake or body weight ( n 7). Few studies statistically tested differences in outcomes between SEP groups. Nevertheless, of the seven studies that reported on changes in weight outcomes for the total population following an increase in SSB price, all reported either similar reductions in weight across SEP groups or greater reductions for lower compared with higher SEP groups. All studies that examined the average household amount paid in tax ( n 5) reported that an SSB tax would be regressive, but with small differences between higher- and lower-income households (0·10–1·0 % and 0·03 %–0·60 % of annual household income paid in SSB tax for low- and high-income households, respectively). Based on the available evidence, a tax on SSB will deliver similar population weight benefits across socio-economic strata or greater benefits for lower SEP groups. An SSB tax is shown to be consistently financially regressive, but to a small degree.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.DIABET.2013.09.006
Abstract: The prevalence of diabetes and obesity has increased rapidly over the last few decades in both developed and developing countries. While it is intuitively appealing to suggest that lifestyle risk factors such as decreased physical activity and adoption of poor diets can explain much of the increase, the evidence to support this is poor. Given this, there has been an impetus to look more widely than traditional lifestyle and biomedical risk factors, especially those risk factors, which arise from the environment. Since the industrial revolution, there has been an introduction of many chemicals into our environment, which have now become environmental pollutants. There has been growing interest in one key class of environmental pollutants known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and their potential role in the development of diabetes. This review will summarise and appraise the current epidemiological evidence relating POPs to diabetes and highlight gaps and flaws in this evidence.
Publisher: Human Kinetics
Date: 06-2023
Abstract: Physical activity (PA) among children and adolescents is often reported by time segments centered around the school day, including before school. However, there is no consistent approach to defining the before-school segment, to accurately capture PA levels and facilitate synthesis of results across studies. Therefore, this study aimed to (a) examine how studies with children and adolescents have defined the before-school segment, and (b) compare adolescents’ before-school PA using various segment definitions. We conducted a systematic search and review of literature from six databases, and subsequently analyzed accelerometer data from Australia ( n = 472, mean age 14.9 years, 40% male), to compare PA across five before-school definitions. Our review found 69 studies reporting before-school PA, 59 of which used device-based measures. Definitions ranged widely, but justifications were rarely reported. Our empirical comparison of definitions resulted in a range of participants meeting wear time criteria (≥3 days at % of segment length) from the latest-starting definition (30 min prior to school n = 443) to the earliest-starting definition (6:00 a.m.–school start n = 155), implying that for many participants, accelerometer wear was low in the early hours due to sleep or noncompliance. Statistically significant differences in light and moderate-to-vigorous PA (mean minutes/school day, proportion of segment length, and proportion of wear time) were found between definitions, indicating that before-school PA could potentially be underestimated depending on definition choice. We recommend that future studies clearly report and justify segment definition, apply segment-specific wear time criteria, and collect wake time data to enable in idualized segment start times and minimize risk of data misclassification.
No related grants have been discovered for Venurs Hui Yee Loh.