How a neighborhood can influence its residents’ future health

Your neighborhood can influence your health — both present and future — and a new report finds that Black and Hispanic children are much less likely than white children to live in neighborhoods that allow for healthy growth. Here’s more: 

• The context: Researchers evaluated neighborhoods across the U.S. on 29 factors that influence health, including the availability of green space and access to healthy foods.  
• The findings: Bakersfield, Calif., had the lowest score for children to grow up healthy, while Madison, Wis., had the highest. Black children were nearly eight times more likely, and Hispanic children were five times more likely, to grow up in a neighborhood with a lower opportunity score. 
• Future effects: Children in low-opportunity neighborhoods tended to earn less as adults. Their average life expectancy was also seven years shorter than those in high-scoring areas.