Understanding the impact of place on health is a key element of epidemiologic investigation, and numerous tools are being employed for analysis of spatial health-related data. This review documents the huge growth in spatial epidemiology, summarizes the tools that have been employed, and provides in-depth discussion of several methods. Relevant research articles for 2000–2010 from seven epidemiology journals were included if the study utilized a spatial analysis method in primary analysis (n = 207). Results summarized frequency of spatial methods and substantive focus; graphs explored trends over time. The most common spatial methods were distance calculations, spatial aggregation, clustering, spatial smoothing and interpolation, and spatial regression. Proximity measures were predominant and were applied primarily to air quality and climate science and resource access studies. The review concludes by noting emerging areas that are likely to be important to future spatial analysis in public health.

The worldwide epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus is largely driven by the combined rise in obesity, intake of energy-dense or nutrient-poor foods, and physical inactivity. Individual-based approaches to reverse this epidemic, including surgical treatment, medication, and behavior modification, have yielded mixed results.^1,2 Meanwhile, community trends in diabetes incidence continue to worsen.³ It has been argued that large-scale behavioral change is necessary to forestall the epidemic, but behavioral change is often difficult and is not sustainable in unsupportive environments. There is growing recognition that population-level environmental interventions have the potential to alter sociocultural norms in health behaviors.⁴ The presence of resources that support physical activity and a healthy diet are environmental features that could affect the development of type 2 diabetes.

Objective: Food environments may be contributing to the rapid increase in obesity occurring in most Latin American (LA) countries. The present study reviews literature from LA that (i) describes the food environment and policies targeting the food environment (FEP); and (ii) analytic studies that investigate associations between the FEP and dietary behaviours, overweight/obesity and obesity related chronic diseases. We focus on six dimensions of the FEP: food retail, provision, labelling, marketing, price and composition.Design: Systematic literature review. Three databases (Web of Science, SciELO, LILACS) were searched, from 1 January 1999 up to July 2017. Two authors independently selected the studies. A narrative synthesis was used to summarize, integrate and interpret findings.Setting: Studies conducted in LA countries.Participants: The search yielded 2695 articles of which eighty-four met inclusion criteria.Results: Most studies were descriptive and came from Brazil (61 %), followed by Mexico (18 %) and Guatemala (6 %). Studies were focused primarily on retail/provision (n 27), marketing (n 16) and labelling (n 15). Consistent associations between availability of fruit and vegetable markets and higher consumption of fruits and vegetables were found in cross-sectional studies. Health claims in food packaging were prevalent and mostly misleading. There was widespread use of marketing strategies for unhealthy foods aimed at children. Food prices were lower for processed relative to fresh foods. Some studies documented high sodium in industrially processed foods.Conclusions: Gaps in knowledge remain regarding policy evaluations, longitudinal food retail studies, impacts of food price on diet and effects of digital marketing on diet/health.