A study found that the likelihood of gaining weight increases when you move to a less fancy neighborhood than you are used to. 

Dallas Heart Study's Change in Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Weight Gain, published May 7, said that its research showed participants who moved and lived at "more-socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods" gained more weight than their counterparts who stay put. 

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On average, the person gains 0.64 kilograms of weight when they move to a depressed area and that the more you change addresses, the more likely you will add extra pounds to your body. 

From 2000 to 2002, the Dallas Heart Study collected data from 3,072 Dallas County residents, aged 18 to 65. The research team conducted follow-up surveys on the participants for seven years and started to collect and study the data they have gathered in 2007. The said participants were asked about their medical histories, demographic data, length of stay at their residence and whether they have moved to a new home. 

There were 2,485 participants who never missed to give updates during the course of the study and 49 percent of them reported to have moved to a new residence. Out of those residents, 263 moved to a poorer neighborhood and compared to their peers, who did not leave their residence or moved to a more affluent community, they gained more weight. 

"This study sheds light on the impact changes in neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation by moving can have on weight change and subsequent obesity," the researchers wrote. 

The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 

Big Think wrote that the Dallas Heart Study's findings support a 2013 University of Chicago research that shows the negative effects of living in low-income communities. The study suggested that such a change will affect a person's overall persona and even cause them to be less optimistic about their prospects in life. 

Dallas Heart Study said that stronger community-based public health initiatives should be promoted to further explore the connection between weight gain and a change in a person's socio-economic status.

Tagsdallas heart study, obesity, weight gain, dallas county, Research, Study