Characterizing physical activity and food urban environments: a GIS-based multicomponent proposal

Area of Science:

• Urban Health
• Environmental Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Urban environments significantly impact cardiovascular risk factors distribution.
• Assessing environmental correlates of obesity, specifically food and physical activity environments, is crucial for public health.
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) offer a powerful framework for such environmental characterization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement a multicomponent GIS-based method.
• To characterize and evaluate urban environmental correlates of obesity.
• To integrate measures of food and physical activity environments.

Main Methods:

• Study conducted in a socio-demographically average urban area in Madrid, Spain (12 census sections, ~16,000 residents).
• On-field audits of all food stores and street segments were performed.
• A synthetic index was developed using kernel density analyses to integrate food and physical activity environment measures (range 0-100).

Main Results:

• A heterogeneous distribution of the synthetic index was observed across the study area.
• 75% of the area scored below 36.8, and 50% below 25.5.
• 41% of residents lived in areas with a low environmental health score, indicating significant disparities.

Conclusions:

• The proposed synthetic index is a relevant tool for urban health interventions.
• It provides a feasible method to integrate diverse measures of environmental barriers and facilitators.
• Informing urban planning for healthier food and physical activity environments is a key application.