Introduction
In the past 15 years, researchers, practitioners, and community residents and leaders
have become increasingly interested in associations among built environments and physical
activity, diet, and obesity. Numerous tools to measure activity and food environments
have been developed but vary in quality and usability. Future progress depends on
aligning these tools with new communication technology and increasing their utility
for planning and policy.
Methods
The Built Environment Assessment Training Institute Think Thank was held in July 2013.
Expert participants discussed priorities, gaps, and promising opportunities to advance
the science and practice of measuring obesity-related built environments. Participants
proposed and voted on recommended future directions in two categories: “big ideas”
and additional recommendations.
Results
Recommendations for the first “big idea” involve developing new, simplified built
environment assessment tools and deploying them through online trainings and easily
accessible web-based apps. Future iterations of the tools would link to databases
of key locations (e.g., parks, food stores); have built-in scoring and analysis; and
provide clear, simple feedback to users. A second “big idea” addresses dissemination
of results from built environment assessments and translation into policies including
land use and food access planning. Additional recommendations include (1) improving
multidisciplinary collaborations; (2) engaging stakeholders across sectors; (3) centralized
data resource centers; (4) increased use of emerging technologies to communicate findings;
and (5) advocating for expanded funding for measurement development, training, and
dissemination.
Conclusions
Implementing these recommendations is likely to improve the quality of built environment
measures and expand their use in research and practice.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to American Journal of Preventive MedicineAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Obesogenic environments: a systematic review of the association between the physical environment and adult weight status, the SPOTLIGHT project.BMC Public Health. 2014; 14: 233https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-233
- Creating healthy food and eating environments: policy and environmental approaches.Annu Rev Public Health. 2008; 29: 253-272
- Physical activity and food environments: solutions to the obesity epidemic.Milbank Q. 2009; 87: 123-154https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0009.2009.00550.x
- The built environment and obesity: a systematic review of the epidemiologic evidence.Health Place. 2010; 16: 175-190https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2009.09.008
- The local food environment and diet: a systematic review.Health Place. 2012; 18: 1172-1187https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.05.006
- Built environment, physical activity, and obesity: what have we learned from reviewing the literature?.Health Place. 2012; 18: 100-105https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2011.08.021
- Built environments and obesity in disadvantaged populations.Epidemiol Rev. 2009; 31: 7-20https://doi.org/10.1093/epirev/mxp005
- A systematic review of fast food access studies.Obes Rev. 2011; 12: e460-e471https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2010.00715.x
- Measuring the food and physical activity environments: shaping the research agenda.Am J Prev Med. 2009; 36: S81-S85https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.01.003
- Measuring the built environment for physical activity: state of the science.Am J Prev Med. 2009; 36 (e12): S99-S123https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.01.005
- Measures of the consumer food store environment: a systematic review of the evidence 2000-2011.J Community Health. 2012; 37: 897-911https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-011-9524-x
- Measuring food environments: a guide to available instruments.Am J Health Promot. 2010; 24: 410-426https://doi.org/10.4278/ajhp.080909-LIT-190
- The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research catalogue of surveillance systems and measures registry: new tools to spur innovation and increase productivity in childhood obesity research.Am J Prev Med. 2012; 42: 433-435https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.01.004
- Built Environment Assessment and Interventions for Obesity Prevention: Moving the Field Forward.Am J Prev Med. 2015; 48: 613-614
- Technologies to measure and modify physical activity and eating environments..Am J Prev Med. 2015; 48: 630-638
- Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in stores (NEMS-S): development and evaluation.Am J Prev Med. 2007; 32: 282-289
- Nutrition Environment Measures Study in restaurants (NEMS-R): development and evaluation.Am J Prev Med. 2007; 32: 273-281
- Training for and dissemination of the Nutrition Environment Measures Surveys (NEMS).Prev Chronic Dis. 2010; 7: A126
- Study designs and analytic strategies for environmental and policy research on obesity, physical activity, and diet: recommendations from a meeting of experts.Am J Prev Med. 2009; 36: S72-S77https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.10.006
Article info
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
