Discussion

Geographic Information tools have been described as one of six innovations at the frontier of social science research and has important application to studies of the built environment and health. Coupled with new advances in epidemiology, such as multilevel statistics and spatial analysis methods, GIS has the potential to contribute to the advancement of our understanding of the importance of the built environment for obesity. However, important methodological challenges remain relating to data collection, GIS concepts, and the measurement of the built environment. This glossary provides public health researchers with an introduction to GIS; its potential to contribute to our understanding of the built environment and obesity; and the basic concepts and methods related to using GIS. Further, the correct and consistent use is aided by protocols such as those already developed by Forsyth and the ever growing collections of up-to-date web-based resources including the International Physical Activity and the Environment Network http://www.ipenproject.org/, The Global Positioning Systems in Health Research Network http://www.gps-hrn.org/ and the US National Cancer Institute: Measures of the Food Environment https://riskfactor.cancer.gov/mfe. Nonetheless, a familiarisation of key terms is not a substitute for an understanding of geographical and mapping principles (e.g. map projections and edge effects) and the need for theoretically-informed rather than data-driven analytical approaches.