Street-View Greenspace Exposure and Measured Adiposity in Early Adolescence

Background and Aim: Research on greenspace and adiposity in adolescents is dominated by satellite-derived exposure measures and self-reported adiposity. Google Street View (GSV) images measure ground-level specific greenspace exposures, which may better capture pathways linking greenspace to adiposity. We examined GSV-based greenspace assessed in childhood and adolescence and research-measures of adiposity in adolescence in Project Viva, a cohort in eastern Massachusetts participating in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) consortium. Methods: We applied deep learning algorithms to GSV images to derive novel metrics of visible greenspace within 250m of participant’s residential addresses in 2007-2010 (mid-childhood, mean age 7.9y) and 2012-2016 (early adolescence, 13.2y). We calculated % total greenspace (combined % grass, % trees, % plants, % fields, and % flowers) within each image, and % grass and % trees separately. At in-person early adolescence research visits, trained research assistants assessed age- and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) z-scores, waist circumference, and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). We used linear regression to examine cross-sectional (adolescence) and longitudinal associations (mid-childhood to adolescent) between greenspace (per IQR) and adiposity, adjusting for child’s sex, race/ethnicity, and age; mother’s education, marital status, and pre-pregnancy BMI; father’s education and BMI; household income; neighborhood median income, and population density. Results: In cross-sectional analyses (N=652), higher % grass was associated with lower BMI z-score (-0.13 (-0.25,-0.01)); lower waist circumference (-1.38cm (-2.65,-0.10)); and lower DXA total fat (-0.30 kg/m² (-0.67, 0.08)) and trunk fat (-0.14 kg/m² (-0.32, 0.04)). No cross-sectional associations were observed for % total greenspace or % trees. In longitudinal analyses (N=400), there was a suggestion that higher % grass was associated with lower waist circumference (-0.86cm (-1.98, 0.27)), but no other associations were present. Conclusions: Street-view grass exposure was associated with lower measured adiposity among participants in early adolescence in cross-sectional analyses.