How can GPS technology help us better understand exposure to the food environment? A systematic review

Cetateanu, Andreea and Jones, Andrew (2016) How can GPS technology help us better understand exposure to the food environment? A systematic review. SSM-Population Health, 2. pp. 196-205.

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Abstract

Purpose: Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are increasingly being used to objectively assess movement patterns of people related to health behaviours. However research detailing their application to the food environment is scarce. This systematic review examines the application of GPS in studies of exposure to food environments and their potential influences on health. Methods: Based on an initial scoping exercise, published articles to be included in the systematic review were identified from four electronic databases and reference lists and were appraised and analysed, the final cut-off date for inclusion being January 2015. Included studies used GPS to identify location of individuals in relation to food outlets and link that to health or diet outcomes. They were appraised against a set of quality criteria. Results: Six studies met the inclusion criteria, which were appraised to be of moderate quality. Newer studies had a higher quality score. Associations between observed mobility patterns in the food environment and diet related outcomes were equivocal. Findings agreed that traditional food exposure measures overestimate the importance of the home food environment. Conclusions: The use of GPS to measure exposure to the food environment is still in its infancy yet holds much potential. There are considerable variations and challenges in developing and standardising the methods used to assess exposure.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Uncontrolled Keywords:	global positioning systems,geographic information systems,food environments,food exposure,systematic review
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School Faculty of Science
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Epidemiology and Public Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Business and Local Government Data Research Centre (former - to 2023) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Promotion Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Public Health and Health Services Research (former - to 2023)
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	13 Apr 2016 08:44
Last Modified:	24 Sep 2024 11:38
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/58192
DOI:	10.1016/j.ssmph.2016.04.001

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