What does a walkable neighbourhood have to do with cancer?

Living in an environment that promotes walking can help lower the risk of certain obesity-related cancers. — AFP

Science has repeatedly highlighted the importance of contact with nature for happiness, better mental health, and even longer life.

A study carried out in the United States in 2022 demonstrated the longevity benefits of tree-filled neighbourhoods, while more recent research has shown how parks and green spaces could help slow cellular ageing.

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But researchers at Columbia University's School of Public Health and New York University's School of Medicine have recently turned their attention to the benefits of an entirely different kind of urban design: walkable neighbourhoods.

In other words, neighbourhoods that encourage pedestrian activity, or in which pedestrians can easily get around.

This type of zone can easily be imagined as part of the "15-minute city" concept, in which all essential services are within a 15-minute walk or bike ride of people's homes.

More specifically, the scientists looked at the impact of these neighbourhoods on the risk of obesity-related cancers in women.

This research is all the more important since the World Health Organization (WHO) regularly warns of the rising levels of obesity worldwide and its consequences on health.

According to the global health authority, obesity is a cause of 13 different types of cancer, including postmenopausal breast cancer and endometrial cancer.

Published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the study involved 14,274 women aged 34 to 65, recruited via a New York breast cancer screening centre between 1985 and 1991, and followed for almost three decades.

The aim of this research was to investigate a potential association between the risk of obesity-related cancers and the walkability of the neighbourhoods in which the participants lived during the period of study, i.e. the extent to which these areas encouraged travel on foot.

Note that 18% of the women included in the study had a first obesity-related cancer by the end of 2016, with postmenopausal breast cancer (53%), colorectal cancer (14%) and endometrial cancer (12%) being the most common among the sample.

The scientists observed that women living in neighbourhoods conducive to walking had lower rates of obesity-related cancers.

"These results contribute to the growing evidence of how urban design affects the health and well-being in ageing populations," said Columbia University professor of epidemiology Dr Andrew Rundle in a news release.

"Urban design can create a context that promotes walking, increases overall physical activity, and reduce car-dependency, which could lead to subsequent improvements in preventing diseases attributed to unhealthy weight."

In detail, the study revealed that women who lived in the most walkable neighbourhoods had a 26% lower risk of obesity-related cancers than participants who lived in the least walkable neighbourhoods.

This protective association was particularly marked for post-menopausal breast cancer, but more "moderate" associations were also found for endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer and multiple myeloma.

"We further observed that the association between high neighbourhood walkability and lower risk of overall obesity-related cancers was stronger for women living in neighbourhoods with higher levels of poverty," said study lead author Dr Sandra India-Aldana.

"These findings suggest that neighbourhood social and economic environments are also relevant to risk of developing obesity-related cancers." – AFP Relaxnews