Use of Global Positioning Systems to Study Physical Activity and the Environment

Abstract

Context-The Global Positioning System (GPS) represents an innovative way to objectively assess the spatial locations of physical activity behavior.Purpose-The aim of this systematic review was to determine the capability of GPS to collect high quality data on the location of activities in research on the relationship between physical activity and the environment.Evidence acquisition-Published and unpublished articles identified from seven electronic databases, reference lists, bibliographies and websites up to March 2010 were systematically searched for, appraised and analysed in summer 2010. Included studies used GPS to measure the spatial locations of physical activity and some form of environmental analysis related to the GPS data. The capability of GPS was expressed in terms of data quality which in turn was defined as the proportion of GPS data lost in each study.Evidence synthesis-24 studies met the inclusion criteria. Data loss was positively correlated with the measurement period for which participants were asked to wear the GPS device (r=0.81, p<0.001). Major reasons for data loss included signal drop outs, loss of device battery power, and poor adherence of participants to measurement protocols. Data loss did not differ significantly between children and adults or by study sample size, year of publication or GPS device manufacturer.Conclusions-GPS is a promising tool for improving our understanding of the spatial context of physical activity. Our findings suggest that the choice of an appropriate device and efforts to maximise participant adherence are key improving data quality, especially over longer study periods. ContextPhysical inactivity is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. 1 Various strategies have been proposed to encourage populations to become more physically active. 2,3 A multilevel approach is increasingly advocated [4][5][6][7] as social ecological models of health posit that policies and changes in the natural and built environment which encourage physically active lifestyles may be as important as interventions at the individual or social level. Recently, two principal approaches have been used to assess potentially relevant environmental characteristics related to physical activity (PA): the assessment of environmental perceptions using questionnaires such as the Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS), 8 its short version NEWS-A 9 or the European Project ALPHA questionnaire; 10 and the objective assessment of the environment using either audit instruments or Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Whilst audits have a number of benefits, auditing is time-consuming and expensive for larger areas. In contrast, GIS provide an efficient tool for collating and synthesizing routinely available environmental data for large areas. 11,12 The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite based global navigation system that provides a precise location at any point on the Earth's surface. GPS was initially ...

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