Abstract
Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 874-883 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Nature |
Volume | 615 |
Issue number | 7954 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 30 Mar 2023 |
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Cite this
- APA
- Author
- BIBTEX
- Harvard
- Standard
- RIS
- Vancouver
}
In: Nature, Vol. 615, No. 7954, 30.03.2023, p. 874-883.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development
AU - NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)
AU - Mishra, Anu
AU - Zhou, Bin
AU - Rodriguez-Martinez, Andrea
AU - Bixby, Honor
AU - Singleton, Rosie K.
AU - Carrillo-Larco, Rodrigo M.
AU - Sheffer, Kate E.
AU - Paciorek, Christopher J.
AU - Bennett, James E.
AU - Lhoste, Victor
AU - Iurilli, Maria L.C.
AU - Di Cesare, Mariachiara
AU - Bentham, James
AU - Phelps, Nowell H.
AU - Sophiea, Marisa K.
AU - Stevens, Gretchen A.
AU - Danaei, Goodarz
AU - Cowan, Melanie J.
AU - Savin, Stefan
AU - Riley, Leanne M.
AU - Gregg, Edward W.
AU - Aekplakorn, Wichai
AU - Ahmad, Noor Ani
AU - Baker, Jennifer L.
AU - Chirita-Emandi, Adela
AU - Farzadfar, Farshad
AU - Fink, Günther
AU - Heinen, Mirjam
AU - Ikeda, Nayu
AU - Kengne, Andre P.
AU - Khang, Young Ho
AU - Laatikainen, Tiina
AU - Laxmaiah, Avula
AU - Ma, Jun
AU - Monroy-Valle, Michele
AU - Mridha, Malay K.
AU - Padez, Cristina P.
AU - Reynolds, Andrew
AU - Sorić, Maroje
AU - Starc, Gregor
AU - Wirth, James P.
AU - Abarca-Gómez, Leandra
AU - Abdeen, Ziad A.
AU - Abdrakhmanova, Shynar
AU - Ghaffar, Suhaila Abdul
AU - Abdul Rahim, Hanan F.
AU - Abdurrahmonova, Zulfiya
AU - Abu-Rmeileh, Niveen M.
AU - Garba, Jamila Abubakar
AU - Acosta-Cazares, Benjamin
AU - Adam, Ishag
AU - Adamczyk, Marzena
AU - Adams, Robert J.
AU - Adu-Afarwuah, Seth
AU - Afsana, Kaosar
AU - Afzal, Shoaib
AU - Agbor, Valirie N.
AU - Agdeppa, Imelda A.
AU - Aghazadeh-Attari, Javad
AU - Aguenaou, Hassan
AU - Aguilar-Salinas, Carlos A.
AU - Agyemang, Charles
AU - Ahmad, Mohamad Hasnan
AU - Ahmadi, Ali
AU - Ahmadi, Naser
AU - Ahmadi, Nastaran
AU - Ahmed, Imran
AU - Ahmed, Soheir H.
AU - Ahrens, Wolfgang
AU - Aitmurzaeva, Gulmira
AU - Ajlouni, Kamel
AU - Al-Hazzaa, Hazzaa M.
AU - Al-Lahou, Badreya
AU - Al-Raddadi, Rajaa
AU - Al Hourani, Huda M.
AU - Al Qaoud, Nawal M.
AU - Alarouj, Monira
AU - AlBuhairan, Fadia
AU - AlDhukair, Shahla
AU - Aldwairji, Maryam A.
AU - Alexius, Sylvia
AU - Ali, Mohamed M.
AU - Alkandari, Abdullah
AU - Alkerwi, Ala’a
AU - Alkhatib, Buthaina M.
AU - Allin, Kristine
AU - Alvarez-Pedrerol, Mar
AU - Aly, Eman
AU - Amarapurkar, Deepak N.
AU - Etxezarreta, Pilar Amiano
AU - Amoah, John
AU - Amougou, Norbert
AU - Amouyel, Philippe
AU - Andersen, Lars Bo
AU - Anderssen, Sigmund A.
AU - Androutsos, Odysseas
AU - Ängquist, Lars
AU - Anjana, Ranjit Mohan
AU - Ansari-Moghaddam, Alireza
AU - Anufrieva, Elena
AU - Aounallah-Skhiri, Hajer
AU - Araújo, Joana
AU - Ariansen, Inger
AU - Aris, Tahir
AU - Arku, Raphael E.
AU - Arlappa, Nimmathota
AU - Aryal, Krishna K.
AU - Aseffa, Nega
AU - Aspelund, Thor
AU - Assah, Felix K.
AU - Assembekov, Batyrbek
AU - Assunção, Maria Cecília F.
AU - Aung, May Soe
AU - Auvinen, Juha
AU - Avdičová, Mária
AU - Avi, Shina
AU - Azevedo, Ana
AU - Azimi-Nezhad, Mohsen
AU - Azizi, Fereidoun
AU - Azmin, Mehrdad
AU - Babu, Bontha V.
AU - Jørgensen, Maja Bæksgaard
AU - Baharudin, Azli
AU - Bahijri, Suhad
AU - Bakacs, Marta
AU - Balakrishna, Nagalla
AU - Balanova, Yulia
AU - Bamoshmoosh, Mohamed
AU - Banach, Maciej
AU - Banegas, José R.
AU - Baran, Joanna
AU - Baran, Rafał
AU - Barbagallo, Carlo M.
AU - Filho, Valter Barbosa
AU - Barceló, Alberto
AU - Baretić, Maja
AU - Barkat, Amina
AU - Barnoya, Joaquin
AU - Barrera, Lena
AU - Barreto, Marta
AU - Barros, Aluisio J.D.
AU - Barros, Mauro Virgílio Gomes
AU - Bartosiewicz, Anna
AU - Basit, Abdul
AU - Bastos, Joao Luiz D.
AU - Bata, Iqbal
AU - Batieha, Anwar M.
AU - Batista, Aline P.
AU - Batista, Rosangela L.
AU - Battakova, Zhamilya
AU - Baur, Louise A.
AU - Bayauli, Pascal M.
AU - Beaglehole, Robert
AU - Bel-Serrat, Silvia
AU - Belavendra, Antonisamy
AU - Ben Romdhane, Habiba
AU - Benedics, Judith
AU - Benet, Mikhail
AU - Rolandi, Gilda Estela Benitez
AU - Bere, Elling
AU - Bergh, Ingunn Holden
AU - Berhane, Yemane
AU - Berkinbayev, Salim
AU - Bernabe-Ortiz, Antonio
AU - Bernotiene, Gailute
AU - Carrasola, Ximena Berrios
AU - Bettiol, Heloísa
AU - Beutel, Manfred E.
AU - Beybey, Augustin F.
AU - Bezerra, Jorge
AU - Bhagyalaxmi, Aroor
AU - Bharadwaj, Sumit
AU - Bhargava, Santosh K.
AU - Bi, Hongsheng
AU - Bi, Yufang
AU - Bia, Daniel
AU - Biasch, Katia
AU - Lele, Elysée Claude Bika
AU - Bikbov, Mukharram M.
AU - Bista, Bihungum
AU - Bjelica, Dusko J.
AU - Bjerregaard, Anne A.
AU - Bjerregaard, Peter
AU - Bjertness, Espen
AU - Bjertness, Marius B.
AU - Björkelund, Cecilia
AU - Bloch, Katia V.
AU - Blokstra, Anneke
AU - Magnazu, Moran Blychfeld
AU - Bo, Simona
AU - Bobak, Martin
AU - Boddy, Lynne M.
AU - Boehm, Bernhard O.
AU - Boer, Jolanda M.A.
AU - Boggia, Jose G.
AU - Bogova, Elena
AU - Boissonnet, Carlos P.
AU - Bojesen, Stig E.
AU - Bonaccio, Marialaura
AU - Bongard, Vanina
AU - Bonilla-Vargas, Alice
AU - Bopp, Matthias
AU - Borghs, Herman
AU - Bovet, Pascal
AU - Boymatova, Khadichamo
AU - Braeckevelt, Lien
AU - Braeckman, Lutgart
AU - Bragt, Marjolijn C.E.
AU - Brajkovich, Imperia
AU - Branca, Francesco
AU - Breckenkamp, Juergen
AU - Breda, João
AU - Brenner, Hermann
AU - Brewster, Lizzy M.
AU - Brian, Garry R.
AU - Briceño, Yajaira
AU - Brinduse, Lacramioara
AU - Brito, Miguel
AU - Brophy, Sinead
AU - Brug, Johannes
AU - Bruno, Graziella
AU - Bugge, Anna
AU - Buntinx, Frank
AU - Buoncristiano, Marta
AU - Burazeri, Genc
AU - Burns, Con
AU - de León, Antonio Cabrera
AU - Cacciottolo, Joseph
AU - Cai, Hui
AU - Caixeta, Roberta B.
AU - Cama, Tilema
AU - Cameron, Christine
AU - Camolas, José
AU - Can, Günay
AU - Cândido, Ana Paula C.
AU - Cañete, Felicia
AU - Capanzana, Mario V.
AU - Čapková, Naděžda
AU - Hayes, Alison J.
AU - Hobbs, Michael
AU - Jamrozik, Konrad
AU - Judge, Debra S.
AU - Le, Tuyen D.
AU - Lo, Wei Cheng
AU - Malhotra, Rahul
AU - Nguyen, Quang Ngoc
AU - Spencer, Phoebe R.
AU - Stratton, Gareth
AU - Wong, Andrew
AU - Wong, Emily B.
N1 - Funding Information: This study was funded by the UK Medical Research Council (grant number MR/V034057/1), the Wellcome Trust (Pathways to Equitable Healthy Cities grant 209376/Z/17/Z), the AstraZeneca Young Health Programme and the European Commission (STOP project through EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement 774548). For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to the Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission. We thank W. Dietz, L. Jaacks and W. Johnson for recommendations of relevant citations. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this Article and they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions, or policies of the institutions with which they are affiliated. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/3/30
Y1 - 2023/3/30
N2 - Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.
AB - Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85151221457&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41586-023-05772-8
DO - 10.1038/s41586-023-05772-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 36991188
AN - SCOPUS:85151221457
SN - 1476-4687
VL - 615
SP - 874
EP - 883
JO - Nature
JF - Nature
IS - 7954
ER -