Built environment assessment and interventions for obesity prevention: moving the field forward.

Overview The Built Environment Assessment Training (BEAT) Institute (www.med.upenn.edu/beat/) was developed to prepare and encourage investigators and practitioners to use observational and selfreported measures of nutrition and activity environments and related behavioral assessments. This focused training Institute integrated the disciplinary foci of nutrition, physical activity, obesity prevention, urban planning, and transportation. Each summer from 2008 to 2012, a week-long training BEAT Institute was conducted. The Institutes were held in Atlanta, San Diego, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Boston. Each Institute involved 30–35 trainees, selected from as many as 106 applicants per year. The faculty and trainers were drawn from top experts across the country. Extensions to the BEAT Institute have included follow-up with alumni across Institute years and online training programs that are available for free to alumni and others. The 2013, the BEAT Think Tank brought together thought leaders across the spectrum of disciplines addressed in the previous BEAT Institutes to discuss the state of the science and practice and identify priorities for future research, intervention development, and training. The Think Tank was a culmination of 5 years of training, research, and collaboration through the BEAT Institute. The 2-day invitation-only meeting, held in the summer of 2013 in Philadelphia, brought together 29 nationally recognized faculty, experts, and exceptional BEAT Institute alumni. The meeting was designed to be engaging and interactive, set an agenda for the future of the field, and identify concrete products to be developed and disseminated.