title: Obesity among working age adults: the role of county-level persistent poverty in rural disparities.
abstract: Little research has investigated the relationship between county-level poverty and obesity rates. We examined the factors related to obesity among residents of Rural Persistent Poverty counties, finding that these counties had a larger proportion of obese residents (34.5%) than Other Rural (28.4%) or Urban counties (24.9%). In adjusted analysis, the statistically significant association between persistent poverty and obesity was attenuated. Both individual characteristics (race, age) and county-level food availability and access factors were found to be significantly related to obesity. Improved access to quality food may be beneficial to residents of impoverished areas.
authors.affiliation: University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Columbia, SC, USA. kevin.bennett@sc.edu
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Janice C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Probst
authors.forename: Chaiporn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pumkam
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011204:Poverty Areas; D012424:Rural Population; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult