Backgrounder - Built Environment: Population Health Intervention Research

[ Press Release 2011-06 ]

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, in partnership with the CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health; Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health; Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis; Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes; and Institute of Population and Public Health, is pleased to announce the results of the Built Environment: Population Health Intervention Research strategic initiative.

The aims of this strategic initiative are:

  • to support intervention research that examines programs, events and/or policy changes related to the built environment (outcome of community planning, design and implementation) and has the potential to address health problems at the population level;

  • to build population health research capacity in Canada to study the built environment and its impacts on obesity and other heath issues;

  • to encourage "horizontal" networks and collaboration among the different sectors such as urban planners, researchers from various disciplines (including trainees and new investigators), communities, government, industry, and non-profit organizations; and

  • to develop knowledge transfer and exchange (knowledge translation) opportunities between researchers and knowledge users. 

Three new research teams are being funded through this initiative:

Project Title: A moving study: Physical activity and diet before and after residential relocation

Principal Investigators: Dr. Lawrence Frank and Dr. Michael Brauer (University of British Columbia)

Total Grant Amount: $600,000

This Metro Vancouver study will investigate how different neighbourhood design attributes influence health over time. Researchers will compare built environment features and health of people before and after they move to a new neighbourhood. They will focus on diet, physical activity levels, body weight, and exposure to air and noise pollution. They will test how relationships vary across different age groups, ethnicities and income levels. Findings will advance the science and our understanding of how neighbourhood layout and design influence health outcomes across different populations.

Project Title: Identifying causal effects of the built environment on physical activity, diet and obesity among children  

Principal Investigator: Dr. Jason Gilliland (University of Western Ontario)

Total Grant Amount: $545,169

Research suggests that the built environment in which we live, play, shop, work, and go to school, influences obesity levels by making it hard or easy to be physically active and eat healthy foods. This study will assess how the built environment impacts physical activity and eating behaviours among elementary-school children in Southwestern Ontario. The research team will map all the environmental features that are believed to be barriers or enablers for physical activity and healthy diets (such as parks and fast food restaurants). Researchers will also use an innovative combination of observational tools including portable GPS, physical activity monitors, and diaries to investigate how the mapped environments are actually experienced and used by different groups of children, and if they have an effect on obesity levels. The researchers will also develop a free software program that can be used by planners, developers, and policy makers for studying existing and proposed developments. The ultimate goal is to provide information to guide policymakers and planners in making health-promoting changes in the built environment. 

Project Title: TIME (Tools, Information, Motivation, Environment) for Health: A multi-level intervention to promote healthy eating in children and their families

Principal Investigators: Dr. Sara Kirk (Dalhousie University)

Total Grant Amount: $599,603

Families are often under time pressure around scheduled physical activity that they may not have the time to make healthy food choices at home. Yet, there are a number of settings where food availability is not consistent with current recommendations for healthy eating, including recreational facilities. While these facilities promote health in the form of physical activity, by contrast, the nutrition environment within them is often neglected in favour of energy dense fast and processed foods that are quick to prepare, cheap to provide and profitable.

This study will design, implement and evaluate a multi-level intervention aimed at improving family nutrition habits and incorporating a change in the built environment to increase healthy food availability in recreational facilities. At the facility level, researchers will focus on evaluating the impact of existing work aimed at changing the food environment, such as increasing the availability of healthy food choices or encouraging families to purchase healthier food options. For the family-level intervention, parents of children aged five-12 years will be given a GPS-enabled smart phone that will provide information about availability of healthy food options and motivation such as personalized health messages, meal ideas and shopping hints and tips. Researchers will also develop a toolkit for facility directors.