Public Health

Validity of Secondary Retail Food Outlet Data

Fleischhacker, SE
Sharkey, J
Daniel Rodriguez
2013

Improving access to healthy foods is a promising strategy to prevent nutrition-related chronic diseases. To characterize retail food environments and identify areas with limited retail access, researchers, government programs, and community advocates have primarily used secondary retail food outlet data sources (e.g., InfoUSA or government food registries). To advance the state of the science on measuring retail food environments, this systematic review examined the evidence for validity reported for secondary retail food outlet data sources for characterizing retail food environments.

Energy Balance in Adolescent Girls: The Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls Cohort

Cohen, DA
Ghosh‐Dastidar, B
Conway, TL
Evenson, KR
Daniel Rodriguez
Beckman, R
Elder, JP
Pickrel, J
Lytle, L
2013

To study correlates of change in BMI percentile and body fat among adolescent girls. A longitudinal prospective study following 265 girls from the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG) cohort measured in 8th grade and during 10 and 11th grade or 11th and 12th grade. Twice during 2009-2011 girls wore an accelerometer and completed a food frequency questionnaire and 7-day diary documenting trips and food eaten away from home and school. Physical activity, BMI, and percent body fat were objectively measured at each time point. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) declined,...

Potential for Increasing Health-Beneficial Participation in Cycling for Transportation: A “Stages of Change” Perspective on Barcelona’s Bike Sharing Program

Nazelle, A De
Curto, A
Donaire-Gonzalez, D
Mendez, MA
Daniel Rodriguez
2013
The multiple benefits of active transportation, from non-communicable disease prevention to climate change mitigation, have led to increasing interests in developing multi-disciplinary health impact assessments (HIA) of walking and cycling strategies. However a fundamental uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of policies to change travel and physical activity behaviour remains. Our study aimed to assess the ability of bike sharing programs to facilitate contemplation and change in individuals to begin cycling for travel purposes. Methods: Participants living and working or attending school...

Validity of Secondary Retail Food Outlet Data: A Systematic Review

Fleischhacker, SE
Evenson, KR
Sharkey, J
Pitts, SBJ
Daniel Rodriguez
2013

Improving access to healthy foods is a promising strategy to prevent nutrition-related chronic diseases. To characterize retail food environments and identify areas with limited retail access, researchers, government programs, and community advocates have primarily used secondary retail food outlet data sources (e.g., InfoUSA or government food registries). To advance the state of the...

Change in Walking and Body Mass Index Following Residential Relocation: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Hirsch, JA
Roux, AV Diez
Moore, KA
Evenson, KR
Daniel Rodriguez
2014

We investigated whether moving to neighborhoods with closer proximity of destinations and greater street connectivity was associated with more walking, a greater probability of meeting the “Every Body Walk!” campaign goals (≥ 150 minutes/week of walking), and reductions in body mass index (BMI). We linked longitudinal data from 701 participants, who moved between 2 waves of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (2004–2012), to a neighborhood walkability measure (Street Smart Walk Score) for each residential location. We used fixed-effects models to estimate if changes in walkability...

Built Environment Change and Change in BMI and Waist Circumference: Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Hirsch, JA
Moore, K
Barrientos‐Gutierrez, T
Brines, SJ
Zagorski, MA
Daniel Rodriguez
Roux, AV Diez
2014

To examine longitudinal associations of the neighborhood built environment with objectively measured body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in a geographically and racial/ethnically diverse group of adults. This study used data from 5,506 adult participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, aged 45-84 years in 2000 (baseline). BMI and WC were assessed at baseline and four follow-up visits (median follow-up 9.1 years). Time-varying built environment measures (population density, land-use, destinations, bus access, and street characteristics) were created using...

The Effects of Urban Form on Ambient Air Pollution and Public Health Risk: A Case Study in Raleigh, North Carolina

Mansfield, TJ
Daniel Rodriguez
Huegy, J
Gibson, JMD
2014

Since motor vehicles are a major air pollution source, urban designs that decrease private automobile use could improve air quality and decrease air pollution health risks. Yet, the relationships among urban form, air quality, and health are complex and not fully understood. To explore these relationships, we model the effects of three alternative development scenarios on annual average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in ambient air and associated health risks from PM2.5 exposure in North Carolina's Raleigh-Durham-...

Commercial Vehicle Parking in California: Exploratory Evaluation of the Problem and Solutions

Rodier, Caroline J., PhD
Susan Shaheen
Allen, Denise M.
Dix, Brenda
2010

California is home to major international ports in Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland, as well as the second largest border crossing between Mexico and the U.S. California’s highways are critical commercial links from these ports of entry to the nation and carry more commercial vehicle truck traffic than any other state in the U.S. Given the high volume of truck travel in California, it is not surprising that there is a serious shortage of truck parking in the state. This shortage negatively impacts economic productivity, roadway safety, air quality, and public health. This report begins...

Moving Towards A More Sustainable California: Exploring Livability, Accessibility, and Prosperity

Susan Shaheen
Finson, Rachel
Bhattacharyya, Abhinav
Jaffee, Mark
2016

The Transportation Sustainability Research Center at UC Berkeley conducted a series of tasks to assist the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) with an understanding of prosperity, accessibility, and livability metrics. Research findings were collected through a combination of literature reviews and expert interviews. Researchers found that prosperity, accessibility, and livability metrics all involve a component of cooperation with partner jurisdictions. A flexible approach that accounts for local and corridor considerations and evolves over time is emphasized. The white...

Combined Measure of Neighborhood Food and Physical Activity Environments and Weight-Related Outcomes: The CARDIA Study

Meyer, K
Boone-Heinonen, J
Duffey, KJ
Daniel Rodriguez
Kiefe, CI
Lewis, C
Gordon-Larsen, P
2015

Engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviors likely reflects access to a diverse and synergistic set of food and physical activity resources, yet most research examines discrete characteristics. We characterized neighborhoods with respect to their composition of features, and quantified associations with diet, physical activity (PA), body mass index (BMI), and insulin resistance (IR) in a longitudinal biracial cohort (n=4143; aged 25–37; 1992–2006). We used latent class analysis to derive population-density-specific (<vs.≥1750 people per sq...