Table 1.
Description of the variables used in analyses.
| Variables | Description | Year | Data Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health-outcome variables | |||
| Overweight (%) | Percentage of children overweight as defined by the Body-Mass-Index, BMI (thresholds are defined monthly by Kromeyer-Hausschild) | 2013 | SDHS |
| Dental problems (%) | Percentage of children with dental problems | 2013 | SDHS |
| Deficits in viso-motoric development (%) | Percentage of children with impaired fine motor ability | 2013 | SDHS |
| Deficits in language development (%) | Percentage of children with deficits in language development | 2013 | SDHS |
| Social variables | |||
| Social status index | Median index (0–18) representing the status of parents based on school education, employment education and employment status: 0–8 low social status, 9–15 medium social status, 16–18 high social status | 2013 | SDHS |
| Single parent household (%) | Percentage of children living in single parent households | 2013 | SDHS |
| Non-German (%) | Percentage of children with background other than German | 2013 | SDHS |
| Complete measles immunization (%) | Percentage of children with at least two doses (considered complete) of measles vaccination | 2013 | SDHS |
| Participating in U8 (%) | Percentage of children that participated in a preventive health check-up at the age of 4, i.e., U8 | 2013 | SDHS |
| Variables of social-environmental conditions of child care | |||
| Kindergarten attendance (%) | Percentage of children enrolled in kindergarten for at least 2 years | 2013 | SDHS |
| Smokers (%) | Percentage of children with at least one smoking person in household | 2013 | SDHS |
| Own TV (%) | Percentage of children with their own TV | 2013 | SDHS |
| Land use variables | |||
| Simple residential area (%) | Percentage of addresses situated in an area classified as a “simple residential area.” These areas are very dense, highly contained and have low to no green space. The streets and building facades are mostly not well maintained. | 2010 | SDUDE |
| Natural area (%) | Percentage of green and water areas in the sub-districts in relation to the total sub-district area. Green areas include forest areas, urban green and parks, cemeteries and allotment gardens. Water areas include all the water bodies such as lakes, rivers and canals. | 2011 | |
| Per capita natural area (m2/inhabitant) | Natural area (m2)/total number of inhabitants in the sub-district | 2011 | SDUDE |
| Availability of natural area (%) | Percentage of inhabitants living a maximum of 300 m distance away from a natural area (green area of min. 2 ha) | 2011 | SDUDE |
| Population density (inhabitants/km2) | Total number of inhabitants in 2014/total area of the sub-districts (km2) | 2014 | SDUDE, Dep. for Statistics BBR |