title: Characterizing physical activity and food urban environments: a GIS-based multicomponent proposal.
abstract: Healthier urban environments influence the distribution of cardiovascular risk factors. Our aim was to design and implement a multicomponent method based on Geographic Information Systems to characterize and evaluate environmental correlates of obesity: the food and the physical activity urban environments.
  
  
  
  Study location comprised a socio-demographically average urban area of 12 contiguous census sections (≈16,000 residents), in Madrid, Spain. We conducted on-field audits on all food stores and street segments. We designed a synthetic index integrating continuous measures of both environments, by kernel density analyses. Index ranges from 0 to 100 (least-most healthy).
  
  
  
  We found a heterogeneous distribution with 75 and 50 % of the area scoring less than 36.8 and 25.5, respectively. Census sections of study area were categorized by Jenks intervals as high, medium-high, medium-low and low. 41.0 % of residents lived in an area with a low score, 23.6 % medium-low and 31.1 % medium-high and 4.2 % in a high.
  
  
  
  The proposed synthetic index may be a relevant tool to inform urban health interventions, providing a feasible way to integrate different measures of barriers and facilitators of healthy urban environments in terms of food and physical activity.
authors.affiliation: Social and Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Group, School of Medicine, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.|Department of Geology, Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Alcalá, Calle Colegios 2, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Alba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cebrecos
authors.affiliation: Social and Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Group, School of Medicine, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Díez
authors.affiliation: Social and Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Group, School of Medicine, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.|Escuela Nacional de Sanidad, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gullón
authors.affiliation: Social and Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Group, School of Medicine, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.|Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Usama
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bilal
authors.affiliation: Social and Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Group, School of Medicine, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.|Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.affiliation: Social and Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Group, School of Medicine, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain. francisco.escobar@uah.es.|Department of Geology, Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Alcalá, Calle Colegios 2, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain. francisco.escobar@uah.es.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Escobar
mesh_terms: D003132:Commerce; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015444:Exercise; D005523:Food Supply; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D062206:Spatial Analysis; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Geographic Information Systems; Healthy food availability; Obesogenic environments; Physical activity; Synthetic index