Ellen Harris, DrPH¹, Paul Cotton, PhD, RD², Grayson CuQlock-Knopp, PhD³, Gladys Gary Vaughn, PhD⁴, Andrea Morris⁵, Tamara Giles⁶, Tiffanie Nowlin⁶, Cheryl Savior⁷, Lisa Thomas⁷, Tameka Hampton⁸, Tiffany Williams⁸, Samia Ibrahim⁹, and Sylvia Dorsey¹⁰. (1) Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, MD 20705, 301-504-0610, harrise@ba.ars.usda.gov, (2) USDA, ARS, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Building 005, Room 117, Beltsville, MD 20705, (3) US Army Research Lab, 911 Country Club Road, Havre de Grace, MD 21078, (4) Families 4-H and Nutrition Unit CSREES, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mailstop 225, Room 3439, 1400 Independence Ave, Washington, DC 20250, (5) Alabama A&M University, 3408 Darlene Circle, Huntsville, AL 35810, (6) Howard University, 387 Broadleaf Court, Millersville, MD 21108, (7) Salish Kootenai College, PO Box 1553, Polson, MT 59860, (8) Southern University, 112 Stacy Drive, Monroe, LA 71202, (9) Tuskegee University, 204 Campbell Hall, Tuskegee, AL 36088, (10) University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, 4971 N. University Dr., Pine Bluff, AR 71601

To manage and prevent diabetes a better understanding of the relationship between community environment and the ability to eat healthy and be physically is needed. During the 2003-2004 academic year, students from 5 Historically Black Colleges and Universities and one Tribal College, who attended the 2003 USDA Food and Nutrition Summer Institute, conducted community environment case studies. Each university community was defined by ½ mile increments from the main campus until a major grocery store was reached. This distance became the radius for the community boundary, however, geography necessitated revisions to this plan for each site. For each defined community, the students identified food outlets, the types of food available, physical activity outlets and the types of physical activity offered. These data will be added to the USDA Community Nutrition Mapping Project, a web-based GIS application. During the 2004-2005 academic year, findings from this research will be used to develop appropriate community based intervention strategies aimed at diabetes control and prevention.

Learning Objectives:

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• Recognize the need for community level data when examining disparities in diabetes prevention and care. (
• Describe the healthy eating and physical activity opportunities in 6 diverse communities.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.