Concepts, Characterizations, and Cautions: A Public Health Guide and Glossary for Planning Food Environment Measurement

Abstract

Background: There is no singular approach to measuring the food environment suitable for all studies. Understanding terminology, methodology, and common issues can provide a foundation for cohesive and convincing findings. Objective: This review is designed to support investigators and teams newly engaged in food environment measurement who are seeking to optimize and justify measurement choices across projects. Methods: This guide defines key terms and provides annotated resources identified as a useful starting point for exploring the food environment literature. The writing team was a multi-institutional academic-practice collaboration, reflecting on measurement experience with food environments and other retail establishments across the US and in New York City. Results: Terms and annotated resources are divided into three sections: food environment constructs, classification and measures, and errors and strategies to reduce errors. Two examples of methods and challenges encountered while measuring the food environment in the context of a US health department are provided. Researchers and practice professionals are directed to the Food Environment Electronic Database Directory (https://www.foodenvironmentdirectory.com/) to compare available data sources for food environment measurement, focused on the US; this resource incorporates annual updates informed by user input and literature reviews. Discussion: Measuring the food environment is complex. This guide serves as a starting point for understanding some of the public health options and challenges for neighborhood food environment measurement. Conclusion: Food environment measures and data sources vary in suitability depending on research and practice objectives. Reducing barriers to navigating existing literature can catalyze new insights and facilitate theoretically-grounded food environment measurement.