A Meta-analysis of the Literature on the Association of the Social and Built Environment With Obesity: Identifying Factors in Need of More In-Depth Research:

Objective:This study aims to identify groups of the social and built environment factors that have been studied substantially along with factors that need further attention, to guide the research, designing, and planning of the social and built environment for reducing obesity prevalence.Data Source:A systematic search of literature was undertaken from PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Knowledge.Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria:Keyword combination of “built environment,” “social environment,” and “obesity” were used to expand the search scope. Exclusion criteria included (1) any article with less than 50 citations from 2005 to 2010, and those with less than 25 citations from 2011 to 2015. In this way we included the most prominent peer-reviewed studies published in recent years while excluding less influential publications; (2) any article published in a language other than English; (3) literature review articles; (4) any article studying health outcomes not obesity related. We included research on...