Using GPS in physical activity and diet research
Emma Coombes (CEDAR) & Andy Jones (CEDAR)
11.00, Wednesday 10 July. Hospitality Suite 89, level 5
Research on the putative environmental determinants of diet and physical activity behaviours has been limited by two major assumptions. First, researchers have assumed that the activity spaces of individuals can be appropriately represented by the delineation of ‘neighbourhood’ boundaries around their homes. Within defined neighbourhood boundaries, a second assumption has been that that the presence of food outlets and opportunities for physical activity represents a valid measure of their accessibility and can thus be taken as a proxy for their likely use. These assumptions are driven by the fact that information was often not available on the actual movement patterns of study participants and their use of the environment. To overcome these limitations, studies are beginning to use Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to record the spatial activity patterns of individuals, as well as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map the locations of opportunities for food purchase and for physical activity. The output from GPS devices can be linked with data on food purchasing and consumption and also with physical activity measured by accelerometery. However, the use of GPS is a novel field and there are a number of methodological and practical issues associated with their application. This workshop is intended for participants who are potentially interested in using GPS in their research but have no previous experience of their application. We will provide a short introduction to the technology before heading out and collecting some data ourselves using physical activity as our case study. The second part of the workshop will cover data management and will combine a practical demonstration of the processing of a sample of data collected by the group along with a discussion of a set of ‘best practice’ guidelines for data management. Given the limited time available for the workshop it will be advantageous if participants have done some reading in advance. We suggest the following two papers as providing a suitable overview of the topic:
Krenn, P., Titze, S., Oja, P., Jones, A.P., Ogilvie, D. (2011). Use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to study physical activity and the environment: a systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 41(5): 508-515.
Oreskovic, N.M., Blossom, J., Field, A.E., Chiang, S.R., Winickoff, J.P., Kleinman, R.E. (2012). Combining global positioning system and accelerometer data to determine the locations of physical activity in children. Geospatial Health, 6(2): 263-272.
Krenn, P., Titze, S., Oja, P., Jones, A.P., Ogilvie, D. (2011). Use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to study physical activity and the environment: a systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 41(5): 508-515.
Oreskovic, N.M., Blossom, J., Field, A.E., Chiang, S.R., Winickoff, J.P., Kleinman, R.E. (2012). Combining global positioning system and accelerometer data to determine the locations of physical activity in children. Geospatial Health, 6(2): 263-272.