Researchers Study Obesity Risk Factors

Researchers at South Dakota State University are using spatial analysis to investigate nationwide data to determine factors that influence the predisposition to obesity in various parts of the country. The findings, published in the June 29 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the rate of obesity is high in much of the rural South United States, but low in the rural West and in New England states.

As reported by Newswise, the researchers used Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from telephone surveys compiled annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The BRFSS data includes self-reported height and weight, as well as respondents’ answers to questions about their levels of physical activity, and about fruit and vegetable consumption.

“The advantage of using BRFSS compared to a variety of other data sources is that we can get wall-to-wall national coverage. They actually do sampling in every county across the United States," the researchers wrote. “So we can map things, first of all, and we can also use various spatial statistics to test hypotheses about what the environmental correlates of obesity, physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption are at a national level as opposed to other studies that have been more localized."

Analysis showed that the rural South and parts of the Great Plains had low proportions of people who are physically active in their leisure time, while the rural West, New England, and the upper Midwest had high proportions.

Analysis showed the West Coast, New England and parts of the South had the highest proportions. But the Lower Mississippi Valley, the Great Plains and the Mid-Appalachian Mountain region had low proportions of adults consuming fruits and vegetables five times or more per day.

They noted current idea in research is that factors in society can set up “obesogenic environments"—

factors that discourage physical activity or encourage eating the wrong foods—give rise to obesity.

The researchers also plan to study whether distance from supermarkets could play a role in obesity. Preliminary analysis of data from the 48 contiguous United States revealed the probability of obesity increased with distance from supermarkets, while consumption of five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day decreased. The research also showed clear differences between large metropolitan areas and sparsely populated rural areas.

“Sometimes people have to drive 25 or 30 miles to get to a supermarket or grocery store," the researchers wrote. “But big cities on the East Coast or West Coast have a high population density. If they have a large number of people, they have a large number of stores. So the distance to the supermarkets in general is much, much shorter compared to the distances to the supermarkets on the Great Plains."

Sources:
Newswise: Research Explores Factors in Obesity