Walkable neighborhoods and obesity: Evaluating effects with a propensity score approach

Results demonstrate that residential selection bias inherent in cross-sectional analysis slightly attenuates the true association between neighborhood walkability and obesity. Results lend support to the growing body of research suggesting that more walkable neighborhoods have residents with a lower prevalence of obesity. Absent propensity score controls, the causal relationship between environment and obesity would be underestimated by 6%. Our analysis suggests there is an association between neighborhood walkability and obesity.