Integrating geographic activity space and social network space to promote healthy lifestyles

Abstract

Obesity is the most critical issue in public health today, the proposed project uses mobile technology to gather information from smartphone users among college freshmen so to construct activity space and behavioral patterns of individuals as related to weight changes. College freshmen tend to be living on their own for the first time in their lives. They are in a critical stage of forming life-long behavioral patterns of food consumption and physical activity. Based on the theoretical construct of activity space in time geography and social influence by social networks, the proposed project will integrate individual behavioral patterns into grouped behavioral trends. The research outcomes are expected to assist in better planning of built environment and better designing of intervention programs on college campuses to reduce obesity. Specific aims to be accomplished are (1) to develop cellphone applications (apps) to collect location information and information of the levels of physical activity of the participating students, (2) to analyze individual behavioral patterns by reconstructing activity space of the participating students over the proposed study period, and (3) to statistically model the association between weight changes and behavioral patterns. Expected research outcome will include quantitative and predictive models for the directions and strengths of the association between weight changes and how college freshmen live their lives in areas on and around college campuses.

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