Data Collection Instruments for Obesogenic Environments in Adults: A Scoping Review

Abstract

The rise in obesity prevalence has increased research interest in the obesogenic environment and its influence on excess weight. The aim of the present study was to review and map data collection instruments for obesogenic environments in adults in order to provide an overview of the existing evidence and enable comparisons. Through the scoping review method, different databases and webpages were searched between January 1997 and May 2018. Instruments were included if they targeted adults. The documents were categorised as food environment or built environment. In terms of results, 92 instruments were found: 46 instruments measuring the food environment, 42 measuring the built environment, and 4 that characterised both environments. Numerous diverse instruments have been developed to characterise the obesogenic environment, and some of them have been developed based on existing ones; however, most of them have not been validated and there is very little similarity between them, hindering comparison of the results obtained. In addition, most of them were developed and used in the United States and were written in English. In conclusion, there is a need for a robust instrument, improving or combining existing ones, for use within and across countries, and more sophisticated study designs where the environment is contemplated in an interdisciplinary approach.

Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and body size in Australia’s capital cities: The contribution of obesogenic environments

“…The emergence and fast rise of the obesity epidemic during the last few decades is often attributed to exposure to 'obesogenic' neighbourhood environments [14,15], that is, environments with an urban design and built form that dissuade or inhibit physical activity, and/or a food environment that makes choosing healthy and nutritious food difficult or unaffordable. Studies examining associations between obesogenic environments and physical activity have reported that activity is higher in more walkable, more compact, and less sprawling neighbourhoods [16,17].…”

Cultural Adaptation and Evaluation of the Perceived Nutrition Environment Measures Survey to the Mediterranean Spanish Context (NEMS-P-MED)

“…The identification of the obesogenic environment has been conducted using quantitative methods such as observational questionnaires (audits, checklists, systematic social observation), surveys or government health reports, geographic information systems (GIS) and/or questionnaires capturing the perception of individuals [9]; qualitative methods were also used through focus groups or the photovoice technique [10][11][12][13]. The importance of determining which elements constitute these obesity-generating environments has led to the development of data collection instruments [9,[14][15][16][17][18]. However, data collection instruments that consider the perception people have of their food environment are scarce [9].…”

“…The importance of determining which elements constitute these obesity-generating environments has led to the development of data collection instruments [9,[14][15][16][17][18]. However, data collection instruments that consider the perception people have of their food environment are scarce [9]. Some research has shown that perception is a mediator between the exposure to the environment and the interaction of people with it [5,19].…”

“…In order to measure the perceived food environment, efficient, feasible and reliable tools are necessary. Of the existing instruments, some of the most widely used to characterize the food environment have been developed in the United States for the American context by Glanz et al [9,20], known as the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS) [21]. There are different NEMS instruments focused on identifying different types of food environments, such as food stores [22], restaurants [23], vending machines [24] or the perceived environment [25], in order to describe them and establish an association with diet and finally with the results that this has on health.…”

“…To date, this is the only instrument that assesses the perception of different types of food environment (food stores, restaurants and home) [9]. Furthermore, currently there are no questionnaires regarding the obesogenic environment adapted to the Spanish context that analyze people's perception of their food environment.…”