Everyday environmental exposures and mid-life dietary and physical activity variations: E3 study protocol

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Behavioral Science
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Poor diet and physical activity (PA) behaviors are linked to chronic diseases and health disparities.
• Mid-life is a critical period for obesity and chronic disease onset.
• Existing research on environmental influences on behavior often overlooks daily variations and individual differences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of activity-space environments in explaining diet and PA variations in mid-life adults.
• To test the hypothesis that activity-space exposures influence behaviors more than residential environments alone.
• To examine if diminished self-regulatory capacity exacerbates the impact of environmental exposures on diet and PA.

Main Methods:

• Utilized geographically-explicit ecological momentary assessment (GEMA) in 400 adults aged 40-64.
• Combined GPS tracking, smartphone surveys, accelerometry, dietary recalls, and questionnaires.
• Derived activity-space measures and assessed environmental features (food availability, walkability, crime) using GIS.

Main Results:

• Activity-space environmental exposures were found to contribute to both between- and within-person variations in diet and PA.
• Environmental influences were more pronounced when individuals had lower self-regulatory capacity.
• The study provides evidence for the dynamic role of environments in shaping health behaviors.

Conclusions:

• Dynamic environmental exposure assessment using GEMA offers insights into diet and PA variations in mid-life.
• Findings highlight the importance of considering the broader activity space, not just the residential neighborhood.
• This research can inform the development of targeted lifestyle and place-based interventions for mid-life health improvement.