Obesity is more common among women in the most rural places within rural counties

Abstract

While it is well‐known that the prevalence of obesity is higher among women living in rural areas compared to urban areas, little is know about the geographic distribution of obesity within rural areas of the US. This study addressed whether obesity was more prevalent in childbearing women who lived in the most rural locations in 8 rural counties in Upstate New York. The zip codes of 552 healthy pregnant women who entered prenatal care were determined and classified into one of three area types: a city; those with incorporated villages; and those with no incorporated areas (the most rural areas). The number of women in each group was 63, 314, and 175, and the prevalence of obesity was 24%, 21% and 36%, respectively (p = 0.001). The risk of obesity in early pregnancy was then examined by type of geographic area, controlling for individual‐level covariates: education, income, parity and age. Women living in the most rural areas were 2.20 (95% CI: 1.46, 3.33) times more likely to be obese than women in the other zip code groups and women who were college graduates were only about half as likely to be obese as women with less education (95% CI: 0.29, 0.77). Within rural communities, obesity is more prevalent among women in the most rural places.Supported by NIH Grant No. HD29549 & USDA Grant No. 2005‐35215‐15427