Associations between the built environment and dietary intake, physical activity, and obesity: A scoping review of reviews

Summary There exists a large body of literature examining the association between built environment factors and dietary intake, physical activity, and weight status; however, synthesis of this literature has been limited. To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review of reviews and identified 7...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Obesity reviews 2021-04, Vol.22 (4), p.e13171-n/a
Main Authors: Dixon, Brittney N., Ugwoaba, Umelo A., Brockmann, Andrea N., Ross, Kathryn M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Built Environment
Construction
Diet
Dietary intake
Eating
Environment Design
Environments
Exercise
Food intake
Humans
Obesity
Obesity - epidemiology
Obesity - prevention & control
Physical activity
Reviews
scoping review
Urban areas
Urban environments
Weight
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Summary:Summary There exists a large body of literature examining the association between built environment factors and dietary intake, physical activity, and weight status; however, synthesis of this literature has been limited. To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review of reviews and identified 74 reviews and meta‐analyses that investigated the association between built environment factors and dietary intake, physical activity, and/or weight status. Results across reviews were mixed, with heterogeneous effects demonstrated in terms of strength and statistical significance; however, preliminary support was identified for several built environment factors. For example, quality of dietary intake appeared to be associated with the availability of grocery stores, higher levels of physical activity appeared to be most consistently associated with greater walkability, and lower weight status was associated with greater diversity in land‐use mix. Overall, reviews reported substantial concern regarding methodological limitations and poor quality of existing studies. Future research should focus on improving study quality (e.g., using longitudinal methods, including natural experiments, and newer mobile sensing technologies) and consensus should be drawn regarding how to define and measure both built environment factors and weight‐related outcomes.
ISSN:1467-7881
1467-789X
1467-789X
DOI:10.1111/obr.13171