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Posted
09/14/2007  The
nation's first report on obesity and physical inactivity among rural
youth shows that children living in rural areas are more likely to
be overweight or obese than their urban peers.
The report, which uses data from the 2003 National
Survey of Children's Health, found that 30.6 percent of children
ages 10 - 17 are overweight and 14.8 percent of these are obese.
Rural children (16.5 percent) were more likely to be obese than
urban children (14.4 percent).
The finding dispels the belief that children living
in rural and farm communities are more likely to be physically
active because of chores and opportunities to play in areas with
wide expanses of land and fresh air.
Conducted by the
S.C. Rural Health Research Center at the University of South
Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health, the report gives national
and individual state data and highlights weight-related health
behaviors, such as youth participation in after-school sports
programs, use of electronic media, safety concerns and family eating
patterns.
"Recent studies have suggested that childhood obesity
is rising faster in rural communities in specific states -
Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Michigan, West Virginia and North
Carolina," said Dr. Jan Probst, the center director and a
contributing author on the report.
"While this report puts in perspective the number of
children who are overweight or obese in each state, it also sheds
light on the very real problems that exist for children in rural
areas," she said. "Rural children often have limited access to
schools, playgrounds and parks that provide opportunities for
physical activity and sports."
Although the District of Columbia leads
the nation in the percentage of obese children (22.9), more than 20
percent of children in West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee are
obese. Wyoming and Utah tie for the lowest percentage (8.6) of obese
children.
The report also assessed the proportion
of children who fail to obtain at least 20 minutes of moderate to
vigorous physical activity on three days a week, the minimum
recommendation from the Centers for Disease and Control in 2003.
Maryland is No. 1 in the proportion of
children (38.5 percent) who fail to meet this physical activity
minimum but 16 states and Washington, D.C., have more than 30
percent of youth failing to meet the recommendations.
South Carolina leads the nation in the
percentage of children (54.5 percent) who don't participate in
after-school team sports or lessons, while Vermont's children are
the most likely to participate in these programs.
The report found that more than 50
percent of children in 16 states are plugged into electronic media
more than two hours a day. With 57.6 percent of its children using
computers for entertainment, playing video games and watching
television, New Jersey has the most children using electronic media
more than two hours.
 "These
numbers show us that we need to be doing more for the health of our
children," said Dr. Jihong Liu, the study's lead author and
an Arnold School of Public Health researcher. "Community, policy and
public-health leaders must work with lawmakers, educators, doctors
and other healthcare professionals to help solve the problems of
childhood obesity before these numbers increase.
"As today's children reach adulthood,
they are at an increased risk for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases,
high blood pressure and respiratory and joint problems, which are
linked to being overweight, obese and physically inactive," Liu
said.
Highlights of the report
By analyzing data from the 2003
National Survey of Children's Health, researchers at the S.C.
Rural Health Research Center at the University of South
Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health have compiled the
following information on the number of children who are
overweight or obese in rural and urban settings:
•
Minority Stats: Minority children are more
likely to be overweight than either rural or urban children.
Black children (41.2 percent) are more likely to be overweight
than Hispanic (38 percent) and white (26.7 percent) children.
• Nearly one in four children
is obese (23.6 percent) v. 19 percent for Hispanic children and
12 percent for white children.
• Rural South:
Children living in the rural South are more likely to be
overweight (34.5 percent) and obese (19.5 percent). Children in
the West are the least likely to be overweight (27.1 percent) or
obese (12.4 percent).
• Physical Activity: Nearly 30 percent of the nation's children fail to meet the recommended physical activity levels - participation in moderate to vigorous exercises for at least 20 minutes three or more days a week - set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• School Sports:
More than two out of five children (41.2 percent) do not
participate in any after-school sport teams or lessons.
• Electronic Media:
About half of the nation's children spend at least two hours a
day using the computer for non-educational purposes, playing
video games and watching television.
• Mother's Activity:
A mother's physical activity level often influences her
children. Rural Hispanic (47.9 percent) and black children (43.9
percent) are more likely to have inactive mothers than rural
whites (36.8 percent). Physical inactivity was measured by not
participating in moderate to vigorous exercise for 20 minutes or
more on most days of the week.
• Rural v. Urban:
30 percent of children ages 10 - 17 are overweight, 14.8 percent
of whom are obese. Rural children (16.5 percent) are more likely
to be obese than urban children (14.4 percent).
• Safety:
Rural children (20.1 percent) are less likely to live in an
environment that is perceived to be unsafe than urban children
(25.7 percent). The proportion of children living in settings
that are perceived to be unsafe ranged from 11.6 percent in
Vermont to 50 percent in Washington, D.C.
• Family meals:
One in four of the nation's children eat with their families
three or fewer days per week. More than 25 percent of urban
children have fewer family meals than rural children (21.9
percent).
• Top
numbers:
Highest Proportion of
Overweight Children:
#1 Washington, D.C. (2 - 10, in order of ranking: Kentucky, Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Delaware, Alabama, North Carolina)
Highest Proportion of
Children Who Are Obese:
#1 Washington, D.C. (2- 10, in order of ranking: West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Texas, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama)
Highest Proportion of
Children Who Fail to Meet Physical Activity Recommendations:
#1 Maryland (2 - 10, in order of ranking: Washington, D.C., Rhode Island, Tennessee, Delaware, Maine, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, South Carolina)
Highest Proportion of
Children Who Don't Participate in After-School Sports:
#1 South Carolina (2 - 10, in order of ranking: Mississippi, Florida, Nevada, Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Tennessee)
Highest Proportion of
Children Who Use Electronic Media More Than 2 Hours A Day:
#1 New Jersey (2 - 10, in order of ranking: Washington, D.C., Louisiana, Mississippi, Maryland, Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, Oklahoma, West Virginia)
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