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Keywords

Collaborative, Beirut, women’s health, walkability, Body Mass Index

Disciplines

Architecture | Business | Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences

Abstract

Urban environments, which lack adequate social environments suitable for walking, lead to spreading a culture of poor diet and minimal physical activity amongst its dwellers, and thus become one of the major contributing environmental factors that lead to obesity. Nevertheless, the evidence review findings on the association between urban parameters and health outcomes still needs to be investigated and requires integrated system approach for informed health planning. In a car dependent city, like Beirut, with a weak pedestrian infrastructure in addition to unhealthy modern lifestyle, there is significant health problems, particularly obesity, in women. Though genetic tendency is known to be a contributor to overweightness and obesity, environmental factors are often significant sponsors to its causes. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework to understand the link between physical characteristics of the neighborhood including land use mix, proximity to shops and recreational facilities, distance to public parks, and the quality of pedestrian infrastructure on one hand, and the daily travel patterns in relationship with the socioeconomic level on the other. Moreover, it seeks to correlate the level of walkability with the body mass index and hence obesity and to overall health status and chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiac diseases. A pilot study is to be conducted, where a survey is developed and is to be tested on a specific number of 50 women in order to evaluate some of the feasibility of crucial components of the full-scale study. The target urban area extends from Horsh Beirut till Beirut Municipal Stadium. This pilot study conducted prior to the main multidisciplinary research assesses the feasibility of the used tools including such as surveys, mobile applications and mapping analysis as well as testing the reliability and cultural acceptance of the survey.

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