Grant: Operating Grant: Advancing Theoretical & Methodological Innovations in Hlth Res

Obesity is a major risk factor for chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease. These are all key health concerns in Canada. While obesity can be addressed by changes in lifestyle, our communities - and what is available in them - shape the choices we make. The Community Health & Built Environment project examines how community environment influences physical activity and healthy eating to advance knowledge to support community-based chronic disease prevention. We will compare and combine two different approaches for systematically using data about community environments. One approach will use a statistical research method to create meaningful groupings of data. The second approach will bring together community partners to create the groupings based on their experiences in the community. The two approaches will be compared and combined with health data to help create meaningful information that will be useful to public health and municipal planning work in the communities.