Penn State’s Department of Geography is taking a significant step towards addressing obesity-related health disparities, particularly among racial and ethnic minority communities. Associate Professor Zhenlong Li has been awarded a two-year, $399,391 grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to develop an innovative measurement tool for assessing obesity-related behaviors.
The project aims to create a visitation-based obesogenic environment measurement (VOEM) tool that will track how frequently people visit locations known to influence physical activity and food choices, such as parks, gyms, fast-food outlets, and grocery stores. This novel approach uses cellphone visitation data to provide a more dynamic and accurate picture of how people interact with their environment in real-time.
Traditional obesogenic environment indices have been limited by their reliance on static data and self-reporting surveys. The VOEM tool addresses these limitations by offering timely monitoring and integration with behavioral data, potentially reducing bias in the assessment of obesity-related factors.
Li’s research is particularly focused on understanding and addressing the higher prevalence of obesity among non-Hispanic Black adults. By mapping real-time visitation patterns, the tool aims to provide policymakers with actionable data to help reduce health disparities in communities facing greater barriers to accessing healthy resources.
This initiative is part of Li’s broader research at Penn State’s Geoinformation and Big Data Research Laboratory, where advanced geospatial techniques are applied to various public health challenges. The project’s interdisciplinary nature, involving collaboration with experts from the University of South Carolina, underscores the complexity of addressing obesity-related health disparities and the potential for innovative, data-driven solutions.
See “NIH grant for new tool development to help assess obesity-related behaviors” (October 14, 2024)