Associations among green spaces, ambient temperature, air pollution, and body mass index: a nationwide study in South Korea from 2008 to 2021

Abstract

Background

In this study, we explored the associations among green space, ambient temperature, and air pollution from 2008 to 2021, with the aim to provide insights into the trends and relationships among built and natural environments factors and their impact on obesity in South Korean adults.

Methods

A total of 674,962 subjects from the Community Health Survey were analyzed. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and robust regression were used to help understand the changes in trend and the correlations between variables.

Results

The mean age of the study subjects did not differ significantly based on body mass index (BMI); however, the obesity class 3 group had the lowest mean age. Exploration of green space and BMI showed a generally negative correlation in the normal weight group, but no such correlation was found in the overweight or obesity class 3 group. A positive correlation was observed between ambient temperature and BMI in the normal weight, overweight, and obesity class 1 groups. No strong association was found between air pollution and BM. While supporting evidence was found for the relationship between green space and ambient temperature, no such relationship was found between green space and air pollution. Lastly, air pollution and ambient temperature showed negative correlations, which contradicts the findings of prior studies.

Conclusion

Further exploration is needed to identify potential mechanisms and develop policies and neighborhood-level interventions aimed at addressing the built and natural environments factors contributing to obesity in urbanized settings.

Trial registration

The study design and data analysis protocol were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the National Medical Center (IRB No. 202306069 IRB examination exemption approval 20230622).