A new study to be published in the fall issue of the Journal of Rural Health finds evidence that rural Americans are more likely to be overweight than their urban cohorts, reports Mary MacVean.
Led by researchers at the University of Kansas, the study found that 39.6% of America's 70 million rural residents are obese, compared with 33.4% of urban residents. "Including overweight people as well, the comparative totals were
70.8% and 67.1%, the study said."
The study cites factors such as a "cultural diet" of "rich, homemade foods" and the increasing mechanization of farm work as possible contributing factors.
"Although some intervention research has begun to address obesity
among rural adults and families, great attention needs to be focused on
dissemination of effective programs to rural areas, which contain some
of the largest medically underserved communities in the nation," the
researchers said.
FULL STORY: Rural living could be an obesity risk factor
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
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HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research