Abstract

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Paper
GPS and Physical Activity Monitors: Integrated Tools for Healthy Communities
Track: Health and Human Services
Author(s): Christopher Seeger

As obesity levels hit epidemic levels and public health continues to decline, it is imperative to identify what elements of the built environment are contributing to this health crisis. Spatial technology available today allows researchers, health officials, design professionals, and civic leaders to study individual elements of the built environment to determine how these elements affect an individual's interaction with the environment. This presentation will discuss how information collected from physical activity monitors and GPS units were synchronized and analyzed in a GIS to determine how the urban forest, a component of the built environment, may influence an individual's decision to use a particular walking/running route. Attendees will find significance in this presentation by broadening the techniques they use to identifying how and where the built environment impacts physical activity and health. Attendees will also learn tips for selecting equipment, merging GPS and physical activity data and pitfalls to avoid.

Christopher Seeger
Iowa State University
Landscape Architecture
146 College of Design
Ames , IA 50011
US
Phone: 515-294-3648
E-mail: cjseeger@iastate.edu