Oral

The impact of the food environment on the rates of obesity continues to receive considerable attention in obesity discussions. However, objective measurement of the food environment continues to be an understudied area. Numerous questions remain about which source is the most accurate measure of the food environment: food counts of certain a priori classes of foods, evaluation of foods being advertised or marketed, density of food outlets or distance between food outlets, etc. There is also limited understanding of how changes in the food environment changes eating behavior. Despite researchers agreeing that obesity results from lack of balance in between food intake and physical activity, we have a limited number of surveys that assess the physical and food environments simultaneously. This session will highlight research that addresses these issues.

Session Objectives: 1. Describe and rank different methods of assessing the food environment for impact on obesity rates 2. Discuss how shifts in the school food environment (addition of breakfast program) affects food intake at lunch 3. Describe the development and performance of an index designed to simultaneously measure physical activity behavior and eating behavior within individuals

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)