Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Wimberly, M. C.; Specker, B. L.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
PO BOX 2275A
BROOKINGS, SOUTH DAKOTA 57007

INFLUENCES OF PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL LANDSCAPES ON THE HEALTH OF RURAL COMMUNITIES

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The increasing prevalence of obesity in the United States has been driven in part by environmental influences that discourage physical activity and limit the availability of healthy foods. Most research on these phenomena has taken place in metropolitan areas, and has focused on the effects of suburban sprawl on physical activity and the lack of supermarkets in impoverished urban areas. However, the high prevalence of obesity in rural areas indicates that there is also a need for research focused outside of major metropolitan areas. Whereas cities and suburbs are dominated by the built environment, the character of rural landscapes is molded by aspects of the natural environment including climate, vegetation, terrain, and soils. Therefore, there is a need to explore how the natural environment influences the social and economic aspects of rural communities, and how all of these factors influence the health of rural populations. The main objectives of this study are to develop a county-level classification of rural environments across the continental United States, to assess the relationship between these rural environments and incidence of obesity, and to test the hypothesis that access to supermarkets is related to the prevalence of obesity in rural areas. To accomplish these objectives we will use geographic information systems (GIS) technology to process and analyze a large number of spatially-referenced datasets. The county-level classification of rural environments will integrate information about natural landscape features, characteristics of rural populations, aspects of rural economies, and the spatial pattern of rural communities relative to urban areas. Supermarket accessibility will be measured by combining spatial information about population patterns and supermarket locations at the county level. These classifications will be linked to data on obesity from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) to test for environmental effects on obesity. This work will enhance our understanding of the environmental factors that contribute to obesity in rural environments, and will provide valuable information that can be used to develop strategies for improving public health in rural environments.

OBJECTIVES: Increasing prevalence of obesity is now a pandemic, and has been linked to a wide range of chronic diseases including diabetes, hypertension, breast cancer, gall-bladder disease, asthma, and depression. The causes of obesity are multifaceted, and are related to individual-level factors such as age, gender, and education as well as area-level factors that determine the physical and socio-economic environments in which people live. Research that identifies the specific environmental factors linked to obesity can aid in the design of appropriate health interventions and inform the development of public policies that encourage healthier communities. Furthermore, studies that explicitly consider the geographic distribution of obesity and its environmental correlates can identify specific high-risk locations and ensure that community health efforts are directed toward the areas where they are most needed. However, our current knowledge of the environmental determinants of obesity is derived almost entirely from research in urban environments. Rural America encompasses more than 2.6 million square miles (75 % of the total US land area), and is home to 49 million people (17% of the US population). There is a pressing need to examine the proximal environmental factors that contribute to obesity in rural areas, as well as the ultimate causes that lead to the development of rural obesogenic environments. Therefore, the major objectives of this research are to: (1)Develop a national landscape classification scheme for rural health assessment that integrates elements of the natural, built, and cultural environments, (2)Determine whether the incidence of overweight/obesity varies across different types of rural landscapes, and (3)Determine whether limited access to grocery stores contributes to national patterns of obesity in rural environments. Major outputs include activities that involve the analysis of environmental and public health datasets, as well as products that will include scientific papers and new geospatial datasets characterizing rural environments and health outcomes.