Examining Rural-Urban Obesity Trends among Youth in the U.S.: Testing the Socioeconomic Gradient Hypothesis

Authors

  • Jeremy Reed Porter City University of New York's Brooklyn College and Graduate Center

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18533/ijbsr.v4i12.583

Keywords:

Gradient, health, inequality, obesity, rural/urban, socioeconomic.

Abstract

Adolescent obesity has increased three-fold in the U.S. during the last three decades. While this trend is well-known, relatively little is known about differences in obesity across the rural-urban continuum. This research addresses that gap by testing for such a relationship across time while accounting for variations in familial socioeconomic status.  Using 1986-2004 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey data, we estimate recent trends in rural-urban body weight, also testing for potential differences among the rural, small town, and urban high school seniors along socioeconomic gradients. Statistically significant differences disfavoring rural high school seniors in their BMI, their risk for the onset of obesity, and obesity itself over the past decade are identified, with significant interactions between demographics and parental education levels driving the largest disparities. These findings are rich and speak directly to the allocation of public health resources aimed at addressing issues associated with the adolescent obesity epidemic.

References

Baecke, J. A., Burema, J., Frijters, J. E., Hautvast, J. G., & van der Wiel-Wetzels, W. A. (1982). Obesity in young Dutch adults: I, socio-demographic variables and body mass index. International journal of obesity, 7(1), 1-12.

Bachman, Jerald G., Lloyd D. Johnston, and Patrick M. O’Malley (1976) [Computer file]. Monitoring the Future: A Continuous Study of the Lifestyles and Values of Youth. Conducted by the University of Michigan, Survey Research Center. 3rd ICPSR ed. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [producer and distributor], 2004.

Beaulieu, Lionel J., Glenn D. Israel, and Ronald C. Wimberley (2003). Promoting Educational Achievement: A partnership of Families, Schools, and Communities, 273-289 in Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-First Century, edited by David L. Brown and Louis E. Swanson. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.

Blanchard, Troy and Thomas Lyson (2006). Food Availability and Food Deserts in the Nonmetropolitan South. Food Assistance Needs of the South’s Vulnerable Population, Number 12. Mississippi State, MS: Southern Rural Development Center. Retrieved December 12, 2006 (http://srdc.msstate.edu/ focusareas /health /fa/fa_12_blanchard.pdf).

Boehmer, T. K., Lovegreen, S. L., Haire-Joshu, D., & Brownson, R. C. (2006). What constitutes an obesogenic environment in rural communities?. American Journal of Health Promotion, 20(6), 411-421.

Brown, D. L. and Louis E. S. (2003). Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-First Century edited by David L. Brown and Louis E. Swanson. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.

Bushy, A. (1997). Health issues of women in rural environments: an overview. Journal of the American Medical Women's Association (1972), 53(2), 53-56.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2005). BMI - Body Mass Index: About BMI for Adults. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 16, 2005 (http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/ dnpa/bmi/ adult BMI /about adult BMI.htm).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2006a). Overweight and Obesity. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved September 20, 2006 (http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/ index.htm).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2006b). BMI-Body Mass Indicators for Children and Teens. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved September 18, 2006 (http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/ childrens _BMI/about_childrens_BMI.htm).

Cho, M. H. (2004). The strength of motivation and physical activity level during leisure time among youth in South Korea. Youth & Society, 35(4), 480-494.

Crockett, S. J., & Sims, L. S. (1995). Environmental influences on children's eating. Journal of Nutrition Education, 27(5), 235-249.

Crooks, D. L. (2000). Food consumption, activity, and overweight among elementary school children in an Appalachian Kentucky community. American journal of physical anthropology, 112(2), 159-170.

Deaton, A. (2002). Policy implications of the gradient of health and wealth. Health Affairs, 21(2), 13-30.

Dietz, W. H., & Gortmaker, S. L. (1984). Factors within the physical environment associated with childhood obesity. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 39(4), 619-624.

Dietz, W. H. (1998). Health consequences of obesity in youth: childhood predictors of adult disease. Pediatrics, 101(Supplement 2), 518-525.

Duelberg, S. I. (1992). Preventive health behavior among black and white women in urban and rural areas. Social Science & Medicine, 34(2), 191-198.

Ecob, R., & Davey Smith, G. (1999). Income and health: what is the nature of the relationship?. Social science & medicine, 48(5), 693-705.

Eisenmann, J. C., Katzmarzyk, P. T., Arnall, D. A., Kanuho, V., Interpreter, C., & Malina, R. M. (2000). Growth and overweight of Navajo youth: secular changes from 1955 to 1997. International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders: journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 24(2), 211-218.

Ewing, R., Brownson, R. C., & Berrigan, D. (2006). Relationship between urban sprawl and weight of United States youth. American journal of preventive medicine, 31(6), 464-474.

Felton, G. M., Dowda, M., Ward, D. S., Dishman, R. K., Trost, S. G., Saunders, R., & Pate, R. R. (2002). Differences in physical activity between black and white girls living in rural and urban areas. Journal of school health, 72(6), 250-255.

Finch, B. K. (2003). Early origins of the gradient: the relationship between socioeconomic status and infant mortality in the United States. Demography, 40(4), 675-699.

Gable, S., & Lutz, S. (2000). Household, Parent, and Child Contributions to Childhood Obesity*. Family Relations, 49(3), 293-300.

Gordon-Larsen, P., McMurray, R. G., & Popkin, B. M. (1999). Adolescent physical activity and inactivity vary by ethnicity: The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The Journal of pediatrics, 135(3), 301-306.

Gordon-Larsen, P., Adair, L. S., Nelson, M. C., & Popkin, B. M. (2004). Five-year obesity incidence in the transition period between adolescence and adulthood: the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 80(3), 569-575.

Granberg, E. M., Simons, R. L., Gibbons, F. X., & Melby, J. N. (2008). The Relationship Between Body Size and Depressed Mood Findings From a Sample of African American Middle School Girls. Youth & society, 39(3), 294-315.

Granberg, E. M., Simons, L. G., & Simons, R. L. (2009). Body size and social self-image among adolescent African American girls: The moderating influence of family racial socialization. Youth & society, 41(2), 256-277.

Haff, Darlene R. (2009). Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Weight Perceptions and Weight Control Behaviors among Adolescent Females. Youth & Society, 41(2), 278-301.

Institute of Medicine (2004). Childhood Obesity in the United States: Facts and Figures. Washington, D.C.: Institute of Medicine. Retrieved September 8, 2006 (http:// www.iom.edu/object.file/Master/22/606/ FINALfacts andfigures2.pdf).

Institute of Medicine (2005). Preventing Childhood Obesity. eds. Jeffery P. Koplan, Catharyn T. Liverman, and Vivica I. Kraak. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Johnston, Lloyd D., Jerald G. Bachman, Patrick M. O’Malley, and John E. Schulenberg (2004). “Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of American Youth (12th-Grade Survey), 2004.” Codebook for 12th Grade, Form 1 Data. [Computer file]. Conducted by the University of Michigan, Survey Research Center. 3rd ICPSR ed. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [producer and distributor].

Kowaleski-Jones, L., & Christie-Mizell, C. A. (2010). Depressed Mood and Body Weight Exploring Race Differences in Adolescence. Youth & Society, 41(4), 503-518.

Link, B. G., & Phelan, J. (1995). Social conditions as fundamental causes of disease. Journal of health and social behavior, 80-94.

Lewis, Richard D., Mary C. Meyer, Salli C. Lehman, Fredrick L. Trowbridge, James J. Bason, Katy H. Yurman, and Zenong Yin ( 2006). Overweight in Rural, Urban, and Suburban Georgia. Journal of School Health 76, 126-132.

Maddock, J. (2004). The relationship between obesity and the prevalence of fast food restaurants: state-level analysis. American journal of health promotion, 19(2), 137-143.

Marks, G. N. (2006). Family size, family type and student achievement: Cross-national differences and the role of socioeconomic and school factors. Journal of comparative family studies, 1-24.

McIntosh, W. Alex and Jeffery Sobal (2004). Rural Eating, Diet, Nutrition, and Body Weight. In Critical Issues in Rural Health, 113-123, edited by Nina Glasgow, Lois Wright Morton, and Nan E. Johnson. Ames, IA: Blackwell Publishing.

McMurray, R. G., Harrell, J. S., Bangdiwala, S. I., & Deng, S. (1999). Cardiovascular disease risk factors and obesity of rural and urban elementary school children. The Journal of Rural Health, 15(4), 365-374.

Morton, Lois Wright, H. Dreamal, I. Worthen, and Lorraine J. Weatherspoon (2004). Rural Food Insecurity and Health. In Critical Issues in Rural Health, 101-112 edited by Nina Glasgow, Lois Wright Morton, and Nan E. Johnson. Ames, IA: Blackwell Publishing.

Nelson, Melissa C., Penny Gordon-Larsen, Yan Song, and Barry M. Popkin (2006). Built and Social Environments. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 32,109-117.

Newton, M., Watson, D. L., Kim, M. S., & Beacham, A. O. (2006). Understanding motivation of underserved youth in physical activity settings.Youth & Society, 37(3), 348-371.

Patterson, P. D., Moore, C. G., Probst, J. C., & Shinogle, J. A. (2004). Obesity and physical inactivity in rural America. The Journal of Rural Health, 20(2), 151-159.

Pearson, T. A., & Lewis, C. (1998). Rural epidemiology: insights from a rural population laboratory. American journal of epidemiology, 148(10), 949-957.

Perry, Timothy (2006). (Personal communication.) September 6.

Register, C. A., & Williams, D. R. (1990). Wage effects of obesity among young workers. Social Science Quarterly, 130-141.

Robert, S. A., & Reither, E. N. (2004). A multilevel analysis of race, community disadvantage, and body mass index among adults in the US. Social science & medicine, 59(12), 2421-2434.

Roemmich, J. N., Epstein, L. H., Raja, S., & Yin, L. (2007). The neighborhood and home environments: disparate relationships with physical activity and sedentary behaviors in youth. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 33(1), 29-38.

Roemmich, J. N., Epstein, L. H., Raja, S., Yin, L., Robinson, J., & Winiewicz, D. (2006). Association of access to parks and recreational facilities with the physical activity of young children. Preventive medicine, 43(6), 437-441.

Rogers, E. M. (2002). Diffusion of preventive innovations. Addictive behaviors,27(6), 989-993.

Rogers, Everett M. (1995). Diffusion of Innovations 4th ed. New York, NY: Free Press.

Sobal, Jeffery, Richard P. Troiano, and Edward A. Frongillo, Jr. (1996). Rural-Urban Differences in Obesity. Rural Sociology 61: 289-305.

Sobal, J., & Stunkard, A. J. (1989). Socioeconomic status and obesity: a review of the literature. Psychological bulletin, 105(2), 260-275.

St-Onge, M. P., Keller, K. L., & Heymsfield, S. B. (2003). Changes in childhood food consumption patterns: a cause for concern in light of increasing body weights. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 78(6), 1068-1073.

Strauss, R. S. (1999). Comparison of measured and self-reported weight and height in a cross-sectional sample of young adolescents. International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders: Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 23(8), 904-908.

Strauss, R. S., & Pollack, H. A. (2001). Epidemic increase in childhood overweight, 1986-1998. Jama, 286(22), 2845-2848.

Troiano, R. P., & Flegal, K. M. (1998). Overweight children and adolescents: description, epidemiology, and demographics. Pediatrics, 101(Supplement 2), 497-504.

United States Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service (2000). Healthy People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Wickrama, K. T., Wickrama, K. A., & Bryant, C. M. (2006). Community influence on adolescent obesity: Race/ethnic differences. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35(4), 641-651.

Willms, J. Douglas (2003). Ten Hypotheses about Socioeconomic Gradients and Community Differences in Children’s Developmental Outcomes Final Report. Applied Research Branch Strategic Policy Human Resources Development Canada. Gatineau, Quebec: Human Resources Development Canada. Retrieved December 12, 2006 (http://www.dsp-psd.communication.gc.ca /Collection/RH63-1-560-01-03E.pdf).

Winship, C., & Radbill, L. (1994). Sampling weights and regression analysis. Sociological Methods & Research, 23(2), 230-257

Zhang, Q., & Wang, Y. (2004). Socioeconomic inequality of obesity in the United States: do gender, age, and ethnicity matter? Social science & medicine, 58(6), 1171-1180.

Downloads

Published

2014-12-29

Issue

Section

Article