The Importance Of Studying The Differences Among Urban And Rural Communities Across The United States

Over 60 million people are obese in the world today. The socioeconomic statuses of the Americans play a major part in the obesity rates across the country. People with higher incomes are less likely to be obese than people with lower incomes. One in every seven preschool-aged children living in lower income areas are obese (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). A 2008 study showed that obesity is highest among American Indian and Alaska Native (21.2 percent) and Hispanic Americans (18.5 percent) children, and it is lowest

This information is however a great place to start to see if a region does in fact tend to be more obese, or if it simply a County wide pandemic. If a region is found to be more obese more data gathering could then be conducted to answer such questions. Therefore as shown for this given data analysis the data gathering methodology is advantageous because of its ease of use and presentation, and also has a disadvantage of being to broad.

Obesity has become a major problem here in America. Although millions of American’s are affected by it, from all levels of society, the biggest problem seems to be focused with low-income families.

Obesity is a problem in different areas throughout the world; obesity is a major problem in the United States of America. The food industry in the U.S. has changed. Food is cheaper and easier to access, but food is lower in quality and is massively produced (Kenner, 2008). Food is no longer as hard to come by as it once was and is not as expensive, but healthy food is more expensive and, most of the time, requires trips to the grocery store. In American society today, American are busy and have minimal time to exercise, cooking, or even go to the grocery store. The lower socioeconomic classes are notably affected as a result of individuals and families of lower socioeconomic classes often can’t afford healthy food from local grocery stores

Nationally the obesity rates have increased 7.2% in females and 29.1% in males over the last twenty years. (Healthy People 2020, 2010) In San Diego, the Health and Human Services Department (SDHHSA) has identified that obesity is an area of focus with a goal of reducing the problem by 20% by 2010 and currently that 34.4% of the county’s population is classified as overweight and 22.1% is obese with a BMI greater than 30. Other findings reveal that there the problem is disproportionally larger in the Hispanic, African American and low income communities. (Appendix 1. Figure 5 & 6) Although San Diego boasts of a climate that encourages outdoor pursuits and an abundance of recreational spaces and parks, 13.9 % of the population report no physical activity and that 25.5 % of children do less than an hour of physical activity daily, which corresponds with a threefold increase in childhood obesity in the last 30 years. Statistical data points to greater consumption of fast food in areas where obesity is highest and that Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI) which is the ratio of grocery stores and availability of fresh produce to fast food and convenience food outlets are higher in areas where obesity levels are greater than the county norm. B3. Heath Concern:

Over the years obesity has become more and more prevalent in the United States. Currently, approximately 35% of Americans are obese. The Center for Disease Control statistics on obesity are alarming. They have reported the obesity rate to be higher in Non-Hispanic blacks than Hispanics. 47% to 42%, while 32.6% of Non-Hispanic whites are obese. In addition to ethnicity, the CDC looked at obesity among age groups. Obesity was found to be higher among middle-aged adults 40-59, rather than younger adults age 20-39. As far as socio-economic groups were considered, Non-Hispanic black and Mexican American men with higher incomes are more likely to be obese than those with low income. When genders were factored in, the opposite was found. Non-Hispanic

From the data we can see the average BMI and the percentage of obese individuals increased with income for men while it decreased for women. For example, for men the prevalence of obesity increased from 19.48% for those with an average household income of less than $10,000, to 26.09% for those with $80,000 or more; while for women with similar income groups, we find a substantial decrease in the obesity rate from 26.71% to 17.38%. from the data we can extrapolate that the mean BMI and the overall prevalence of obesity are relatively higher among men than women. For men, the mean BMI and the overall prevalence of obesity are 27.57 and 24.83%, respectively. The corresponding values for women are 26.29% and

Obesity is a growing problem and concern in American households today. However it cannot be narrowed down to one main problem. The most prominent underlying issues are psychological and environmental. These issues in turn create deteriorating health and economic problems degrading one’s self-esteem.

Have you noticed obesity has become a big problem in the Appalachians? According to M. Wewers, "Nearly 44 percent of the Appalachian population is obese" (Herath 129). For those who struggle with obesity, it is not just having a little extra weight. When you are obese, you are more prone to heart disease, depression, and high blood pressure. In addition, obesity increases the risk of premature mortality (Herath 127). As the number of people who are obese increases, the nation becomes unhealthier. For some of the individuals who are obese, it is not about eating unhealthily or being lazy. For these individuals, they have a medical condition that causes obesity. The amount of obesity in the Appalachians is shocking; however, there are

The data has shown that there is an ongoing problem with obesity in DeSoto County and many counties in Florida. The State of Obesity, reports that Florida 's adult obesity rate is 26.4 percent, up from 20.7 percent in 2004 and from 11.4 percent in 1990("Florida", 2014). In 2011 for DeSoto County, the percentage of obese females was in the worst 25% of all counties at 44%, while the percentage of obese males was in the middle 50% of all counties at 38.2%. The national average in 2011 was 36.1% for females and 33.8% for males. Excess weight is considered to be one of the major causes and determinates of future health problems. These problems include diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease among others. These issues cut across race, gender and age. If you are a black person aged 45-64 you are more likely to either have one of the diseases attributed to obesity or have the highest risk of developing one of these diseases. There is some good news among the data when it comes to children, the CDC reports that between 2008 and 2011 Florida 's rate fell from 14.1% to 13.1%, a statistically significant decrease according to the CDC analysis. The goal is to continue in this same direction by focusing on the education and intervention of children so they do not become a member of this statistical population and eventually fall into

The trends of adult overweight and obesity are also going up rapidly in the United States which makes it a major concern for public health agencies. Adults obesity rates in the state of New York have been increased from 9.3% in 1990 to 25% in 2015. NYC department of health reports show that more than 50% of New Yorkers are overweight or obese which makes obesity as an epidemic problem. In Flatlands and Canarsie, obesity rates are higher than the citywide rates which makes it a serious problem in those districts. This paper will focus on exploring the problem of high obesity rates in Flatlands and Canarsie and what reasons and evidence that prove that obesity is a public health issue in these neighborhoods as well as what some factors that might have led to this

MEASUREMENTS: changes in obesity (body mass index (BMI) > or =30 kg/m(2)) and normal weight (BMI <25 kg/m(2)) prevalence for men and women by 10-year U.S. birth cohorts were examined. The prevalence of obesity and normal weight in the elderly in 2010 was estimated under three different scenarios of obesity prevalence change.

Obesity has become increasingly more prominent in American society. The Unites States has even been termed an overweight nation. Some twenty to thirty percent of American adults are now considered obese (Hwang 1999 and Hirsch et al 1997). With this in mind, Americans constantly look around themselves determining their weight status as well as that of those around them. While some Americans do fit the healthy category, others enter the underweight, overweight, and even obese categories, all of which can be unhealthy.

Americans are growing wider in size and their education on health and nutrition seems to be diminishing with their waistline. Outward appearance dominates in the media for vanity reasons; however society is impacted with the obesity rates due to the rising health and financial concerns associated. Obesity causes a higher demand for healthcare since it is linked with high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, heart disease, gout, physical injuries, sleep problems, skin conditions, and cosmetic surgery. Factors such as ethnicity, income and physical location make up a person’s socio-economic status. Socio-economic statuses contribute to large parts of health factors and high rates of illnesses. Children born in certain

Four variables from the SPSS dataset that might influence the relationship between the DV and main IV are self-reported health status, household size, years spent in the US, and race (census 2000 definition). These four variables might influence the relationship between obesity and the household income by federal poverty level in light of the fact that many factors cause obesity such as genetics, physical inactivity, and having a poor diet. If being overweight or obese is associated with the household income by federal poverty level, with regards to the four variables from the SPSS dataset, then plans can be implemented to decrease the rate of obesity.