Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Obesity and weight control

Barriers, Facilitators, and Opportunities to Promote Healthy Weight Behaviors among Preschool-Aged Children in Two Rural U.S Communities
Examines barriers, facilitators, and opportunities related to supporting wellness and healthy weight in rural preschool children. Utilizes focus group interviews with parents, caregivers, and community organizations as well as observation of built environment to assess healthy eating and physical activity resources. Discusses wellness barriers and facilitators for preschool children at the family, organization, and community levels.
Author(s): Katherine Jochim Pope, Cason Whitcomb, Maihan Vu, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health 23, 53
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
view details
Neighborhood Greenspace and Changes in Pediatric Obesity During COVID-19
Examines rates of pediatric obesity before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the pandemic as related to normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) or greenspace. Analyzes patient electronic health records (EHRs) of 81,418 children who had a pediatric visit between June 2019 and December 2019 and then again between June 2020 and December 2020. Includes demographic breakdowns of EHR patients by age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance type, neighborhood measures such as social/economic deprivation and supermarket access, and urban, suburban, or rural location.
Author(s): Stephanie L. Mayne, Shannon Kelleher, Chloe Hannan, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 64(1), 33-41
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
view details
Rural Healthy People 2030
Presents literature reviews of 20 rural public health priority topics identified through a survey of rural stakeholders. Reviews the scope of each topic, discusses related goals and objectives from the national Healthy People 2030 initiative, identifies affected populations, highlights interventions and solutions, and more. Topics include mental health, substance use, social determinants of health, access to care, quality of care, chronic health conditions, and COVID-19.
Author(s): Alva O. Ferdinand, Jane N. Bolin, Timothy Callaghan, et al.
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
view details
Rural Wisconsin Chronic Disease Toolkit 2023
Toolkit describing rural-relevant best practices that have been successful in improving chronic disease outcomes and population health. Provides resources to address communication, Body Mass Index, diabetes care, blood pressure control, chronic disease management, and more.
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative
view details
Overweight and Obesity: New York State Adults, 2021
Presents obesity and overweight data for adults in New York using 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Includes rural and urban comparison in Table 1.
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: New York State Department of Health
view details
Urban-Rural Disparities in Childhood Obesogenic Environments in the United States: Application of Differing Rural Definitions
Analyzes rural versus urban differences in food and physical activity (PA) environments that contribute to childhood obesogenic environment index (COEI) scores. Utilizes multiple data sources to examine 6 food environment variables and 4 PA variables by rural-urban continuum codes, among other rural definitions. Discusses differences in COEI scores and implications for public health practices.
Author(s): Marilyn E. Wende, M. Renée Umstattd Meyer, Christiaan Abildso, Kara Davis, Andrew T. Kaczynski
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(1), 121-135
Date: 2023
Type: Document
view details
Changes in Physical Activity Outcomes in the Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities (SHHC-2.0) Community-Based Randomized Trial
Examines the Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities 2.0 (SHHC-2.0) intervention focused on exercise, nutrition, and civic engagement. Analyzes behavior changes of 182 women aged 40 and older living in rural New York and provides discussion about implementing wellness interventions in rural areas.
Author(s): Jay E. Maddock, Margaret Demment, Meredith Graham, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 19,159
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
view details
Comparing Enhancements to Well-Child Visits in the Prevention of Obesity: Encircle Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial
Analyzes care delivery models aimed at preventing obesity in disadvantaged preschool children living in rural Pennsylvania. Reports on 2,025 parents and their preschool-aged children recruited in the ENCIRCLE (patiEnt-cliNic-Community Integration to prevent obesity in Rural preschool ChiLdrEn) trial, which tests the effectiveness of enhanced well-child visits (WCVs) that include obesity prevention tools.
Author(s): Lisa Bailey-Davis, Amy M. Moore, Melissa N. Poulsen, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 22, 2429
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
view details
Multilevel Correlates of Domain-Specific Physical Activity Among Rural Adults – a Cross-Sectional Study
Examines the domains in which rural residents are able to participate in physical activity (PA), such as for transportation-related (e.g. walking, cycling) recreational, or occupational. Analyzes 1,241 participants enrolled in a PA intervention in the rural Midwest from August 2019 to September 2020, with data broken down by individual/demographic factors and perceived environmental factors.
Author(s): Alan M. Beck, Natalicio H. Serrano, Audrey Toler, Ross C. Brownson
Citation: BMC Public Health, 22, 2150
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
view details
Active vs Traditional Methods of Recruiting Children for a Clinical Trial in Rural Primary Care Clinics: A Cluster-Randomized Clinical Trial
Discusses the effectiveness of active recruitment versus traditional recruitment for enrolling rural youth with overweight or obesity in a group behavioral telehealth intervention. Compares the use of direct engagement with pediatric patients at a clinic against the posting of flyers at a clinic and utilizing social media and press releases, with recruiting beginning in February 2020.
Author(s): Paul M. Darden II, Ann M. Davis, Jeannette Y. Lee, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 5(11), e2244040
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
view details