title: The influence of socioeconomic and environmental determinants on health and obesity: a West Virginia case study.
abstract: A recursive system of ordered self assessed health together with BRFSS data were used to investigate health and obesity in the Appalachian state of West Virginia. Implications of unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity of lifestyle outcomes on health were investigated. Obesity was found to be an endogenous lifestyle outcome associated with impaired health status. Risk of obesity is found to increase at a decreasing rate with per capita income and age. Intervention measures which stimulate human capital development, diet-disease knowledge and careful land use planning may improve health and obesity outcomes in Appalachia in particular and rural America in general.
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Built Environment and Health, School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia. AAmarasinghe@meddent.uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: Anura
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amarasinghe
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Souza
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Hyungna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Borisova
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014903:West Virginia / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult