title: Neighbourhood typology based on virtual audit of environmental obesogenic characteristics.
abstract: Virtual audit (using tools such as Google Street View) can help assess multiple characteristics of the physical environment. This exposure assessment can then be associated with health outcomes such as obesity. Strengths of virtual audit include collection of large amount of data, from various geographical contexts, following standard protocols. Using data from a virtual audit of obesity-related features carried out in five urban European regions, the current study aimed to (i) describe this international virtual audit dataset and (ii) identify neighbourhood patterns that can synthesize the complexity of such data and compare patterns across regions. Data were obtained from 4,486 street segments across urban regions in Belgium, France, Hungary, the Netherlands and the UK. We used multiple factor analysis and hierarchical clustering on principal components to build a typology of neighbourhoods and to identify similar/dissimilar neighbourhoods, regardless of region. Four neighbourhood clusters emerged, which differed in terms of food environment, recreational facilities and active mobility features, i.e. the three indicators derived from factor analysis. Clusters were unequally distributed across urban regions. Neighbourhoods mostly characterized by a high level of outdoor recreational facilities were predominantly located in Greater London, whereas neighbourhoods characterized by high urban density and large amounts of food outlets were mostly located in Paris. Neighbourhoods in the Randstad conurbation, Ghent and Budapest appeared to be very similar, characterized by relatively lower residential densities, greener areas and a very low percentage of streets offering food and recreational facility items. These results provide multidimensional constructs of obesogenic characteristics that may help target at-risk neighbourhoods more effectively than isolated features.
authors.affiliation: Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris 13, Bobigny, France.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Feuillet
authors.affiliation: Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris 13, Bobigny, France.|Paris Est University, Lab-Urba, UPEC, Urban School of Paris, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Charreire
authors.affiliation: Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris 13, Bobigny, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roda
authors.affiliation: Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris 13, Bobigny, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ben Rebah
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Mackenbach
authors.affiliation: Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Compernolle
authors.affiliation: ECOHOST - The Centre for Health and Social Change, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Glonti
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bárdos
authors.affiliation: ECOHOST - The Centre for Health and Social Change, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rutter
authors.affiliation: Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: De Bourdeaudhuij
authors.affiliation: ECOHOST - The Centre for Health and Social Change, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McKee
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brug
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lakerveld
authors.affiliation: Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris 13, Bobigny, France.|Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Université Paris 06, Institute of Cardiometabolism and Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France.
authors.forename: J-M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Oppert
mesh_terms: D001530:Belgium; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004779:Environment Design; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D009043:Motor Activity; D009426:Netherlands; D009765:Obesity; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Cluster analysis; SPOTLIGHT; obesogenic environment; virtual audit