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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Sarah Stone-Francisco, MPH¹, Lisa Craypo, MPH, RD¹, Zoe Clayson, ScD², and Sarah Samuels, DrPH¹. (1) Samuels & Associates, 663 13th st, 3rd floor, Oakland, CA 94612, 510.271.6799, stone@samuels&associates.com, (2) Health Education, San Francisco State University, 2555 Leavenworth St. #306, San Francisco, CA 94133

PURPOSE: To characterize the food and physical activity environments in six communities participating in the Healthy Eating, Active Communities (HEAC) Initiative. BACKGROUND: The HEAC communities provide variability across many dimensions, including urbanism, ethnicity, and income. As each community works to improve their food and physical activity environments through policy and environmental change, many lessons will be learned regarding successful strategies, challenges, and potential achievements. METHODS: The location and type of food outlets and opportunities for physical activity were catalogued during a neighborhood walkthrough. Food outlets included major and minor grocery stores, liquor and convenience stores, fast food restaurants, mobile food carts, farmers' markets, and community gardens. Physical activity opportunities catalogued include city and pocket parks, open fields and vacant lots, gyms and recreation centers, and bike lanes. This analysis combined data from a number of sources including: observed facility characteristics, GIS data, community-level geographic and demographic data, and interviews with project staff. Variables were combined to develop an index of barriers and supports to healthy eating and physical activity to identify the major issues in each community. FINDINGS: Maps highlighting key barriers to and opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity in the HEAC communities demonstrate the range of issues faced by rural, suburban, and urban neighborhoods tying to improve their environments, and how these issues differ by type of community. Policy options emerging from this determination of the most salient barriers to healthy eating and physical activity in the community will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be able to

• Describe the key food and physical activity environment characteristics and how they relate to a community’s priority issues.
• Use a tool to collect data on a comprehensive set of physical characteristics to assess the food and physical activity environment in a neighborhood.
• Analyze a mixture of food and physical activity variables to identify priority areas for intervention.

Keywords: Nutrition, Physical Activity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation