Physical Activity, Nutrition & Built Environment in a Bi-national Border Setting

描述(由申请人提供) 最近肥胖症的急剧增加比个人生理或基因构成的变化所能合理解释的速度更快，这表明环境的变化可能是原因之一。人们生活和工作的物理环境的设计和建筑，建造的环境被怀疑是肥胖的原因，因为它促进了活动的减少和食物摄入量的增加。然而，现有的研究已经调查了个人居住的整体建筑环境的性质，并将该环境的特征与个人报告的整体行为联系起来。它没有将实际的环境特征与实际的实时行为联系起来。此外，环境的性质与选择占据环境的个人的性质相混淆，往往在社会经济地位、种族等方面有所不同。最后，先前的研究调查了没有大范围变化的环境。拟议的项目是一项探索性研究，旨在开发方法和分析技术，以解决建成环境与能源平衡的关系。然后，开发的方法将被用来调查实际行为与行为发生的确切环境特征的实时关系。该项目将开发一种方法，利用三轴加速计和7天饮食日记对摄入量和活动量进行经验性评估，同时使用全球定位系统(GPS)数据记录接收器监测个体的准确位置。将访问地理信息系统(GIS)数据库，以确定实际行为点上的建成环境特征。该项目将开发一种方法，以确定建成环境的特征如何与摄入量和活动量有关。它将开发一种方法来确定同一个人如何对不同的环境特征做出反应。它将开发一种方法来确定个体的特征如何与建筑环境相互作用，以影响摄入量和活动。它将开始探索广泛环境中的活动、摄入量和建成环境之间的关系。肥胖症的流行正在对公众健康构成重大威胁。通过确定建筑环境如何有助于摄取和活动，拟议的研究应有助于更好地了解肥胖的原因以及预防和治疗途径。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) The recent dramatic increase in obesity has occurred more rapidly than can reasonably be explained by a change in physiological or genetic makeup of the individual, pointing to changes in the environment as likely contributors. The design and architecture of the physical environments where people live and work, the built environment has been suspected as a contributor to obesity by promoting a reduction in activity and an increase in food intake. The existing research, though, has investigated the nature of the overall built environment in which the individual resides and relates the characteristics of that environment to the individual's reported overall behavior. It does not relate actual environmental features to actual real time behaviors. Also, the nature of the environment is confounded with the nature of the individuals who choose to occupy the environment, often differing in socioeconomic status, race etc. Finally prior research has investigated environments that do not have a large range of variation. The proposed project is an exploratory study to develop the methodology and analytic techniques to address the relationship of the built environment to energy balance. The developed methods will then be employed to investigate the real time relationships of actual behavior to the characteristics of the exact environment in which the behavior occurs. The project will develop a method for assessing intake and activity empirically with triaxial accelerometers and 7-day diet diaries while monitoring the individuals' exact positions with Global Positioning System (GPS) data logging receivers. Geographical Information System (GIS) data bases will be accessed to establish the characteristics of the built environment at the point of the actual behavior. The project will develop a method to identify how the characteristics of the built environment are related to intake and activity. It will develop a method to ascertain how the same individual responds to different environmental characteristics. It will develop a method to ascertain how characteristics of the individual interact with the built environment to affect intake and activity. It will begin to explore activity, intake and built environment relationships in a wide range of environments. The epidemic of obesity is posing a significant danger to public health. By identifying how the built environment may be contributing to intake and activity, the proposed research should lead to a better understanding of the causes of obesity and routes for prevention and treatment.