The weight of place: a relational framework for urban obesity and heart health in diverse contexts

Modern urban environments can foster conditions that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, with obesity acting as a key mediating factor. This challenge is exacerbated in the humid tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) – the focus of a broader research project of which this exploratory study is part – where urban and climatic vulnerabilities converge. However, existing assessment frameworks, largely from the Global North, often overlook critical local factors, while the broader scientific literature remains conceptually fragmented. This exploratory systematic mapping review of 63 studies addresses this dual challenge. Its primary contribution is the 'Urban Obesity Framework', a structure that systematizes 145 disparate indicators into 23 key characteristics of the Built Environment across four major domains, highlighting the high frequency of 'varied and integrated nature', 'active mobility', and 'extreme temperatures' yet revealing an underrepresentation of climatic factors. This framework provides a unified instrument to more consistently analyze obesogenic risks and enable urban planners and policymakers to development of the contextualized assessments needed to design healthier, more resilient, and equitable cities, in alignment with SDGs 3 and 11.