Smart city lifestyle sensing, big data, geo-analytics and intelligence for smarter public health decision-making in overweight, obesity and type 2 diabetes prevention: the research we should be doing

Abstract

The public health burden caused by overweight, obesity (OO) and type-2 diabetes (T2D) is very significant and continues to rise worldwide. The causation of OO and T2D is complex and highly multifactorial rather than a mere energy intake (food) and expenditure (exercise) imbalance. But previous research into food and physical activity (PA) neighbourhood environments has mainly focused on associating body mass index (BMI) with proximity to stores selling fresh fruits and vegetables or fast food restaurants and takeaways, or with neighbourhood walkability factors and access to green spaces or public gym facilities, making largely naive, crude and inconsistent assumptions and conclusions that are far from the spirit of 'precision and accuracy public health'. Different people and population groups respond differently to the same food and PA environments, due to a myriad of unique individual and population group factors (genetic/epigenetic, metabolic, dietary and lifestyle habits, health literacy profiles, screen viewing times, stress levels, sleep patterns, environmental air and noise pollution levels, etc.) and their complex interplays with each other and with local food and PA settings. Furthermore, the same food store or fast food outlet can often sell or serve both healthy and non-healthy options/portions, so a simple binary classification into 'good' or 'bad' store/outlet should be avoided. Moreover, appropriate physical exercise, whilst essential for good health and disease prevention, is not very effective for weight maintenance or loss (especially when solely relied upon), and cannot offset the effects of a bad diet. The research we should be doing in the third decade of the twenty-first century should use a systems thinking approach, helped by recent advances in sensors, big data and related technologies, to investigate and consider all these factors in our quest to design better targeted and more effective public health interventions for OO and T2D control and prevention.

Big Geospatial Data or Geospatial Big Data? A Systematic Narrative Review on the Use of Spatial Data Infrastructures for Big Geospatial Sensing Data in Public Health

“…Since the latest remote sensing data gather multi-spatial, multitemporal information, the areas of research can be potentially expanded to many other themes and health outcomes. Lifestyle diseases, especially physical-activity-related chronic diseases, unhealthy eating, and (re)emerging infectious diseases, can be further examined thoroughly with new types of geospatial sensing data [48].…”

Regional variation in lifestyle patterns and BMI in young children: the GECKO Drenthe cohort

“…We recommend additional studies with greater number of participants and smaller geographical areas, with detailed lifestyle and anthropometry. In addition, we recommend taking other factors into account, such as other behavioural factors, mental health aspects and (epi)genetics, considering interactions between these different domains [ 55 ]. Lastly, regional childhood obesity interventions targeting children in need based on their lifestyle pattern are needed to examine whether this approach is effective in the prevention of childhood overweight.…”

Editorial: Data science and health economics in precision public health

“…Advances in computational and data sciences, such as big data approaches, along with engineering innovations, such as geographic information system (GIS) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, have greatly enhanced our capabilities for data management, integration, and visualization ( 1 – 3 ). These scientific developments have prompted demands for more comprehensive and coherent but, most importantly, tailored and targeted strategies to address fundamental issues in public health ( 4 , 5 ). Combining these novel approaches with more traditional health determinants such as lifestyle, socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental factors has resulted in an exciting new field in the health sciences, Precision Public Health ( 6 ).…”