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Rural America Fatter Than Urban America
ABC News ^ | September 14, 2012 | DR. JULIELYNN WONG

Posted on 09/14/2012 7:39:18 PM PDT by La Lydia

City slickers are slimmer than their country counterparts, according to a new study that suggests rural obesity is a bigger problem than we realized. A national study in the Journal of Rural Health of over 8,800 Americans showed that country folks were nearly one-fifth more likely to be obese compared to those living in cities. In other words, the findings suggest, where you live is important in obesity.

"The rates of obesity were much higher than previously reported based on self-report, with 39 percent of rural Americans being obese compared to 33 percent of urban Americans," said study lead author Christie Befort, an assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan.

Past studies have asked people about their weight, but researchers in this study were more precise. They carefully collected their data on obesity through a national database based on adults who stepped on a scale and had their height measured. "We know people tend to overestimate how tall they are and underestimate how much they weigh," said Befort. The authors were astounded to discover that the rates of obesity in rural populations were nearly double compared to prior studies based on self-reported estimates.

So who is obese in rural America? Apparently, the problem is greatest among young people.

"The differences between rural and urban were most pronounced for younger adults between the ages of 20 and 39," said Befort. The researchers suspect that the increasing mechanization of rural jobs may be the cause. "The diet hasn't necessarily changed at the same time the manual labor requirements have gone down."...

(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: elitism; obesity; science
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To: publius911
Exhibit 1

Very few rural areas vote Democrat. Almost all urban areas do.

The Defense rests your Honor.

21 posted on 09/14/2012 8:45:58 PM PDT by MNJohnnie (Giving more money to DC to fix the Debt is like giving free drugs to addicts think it will cure them)
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To: La Lydia
feh...
22 posted on 09/14/2012 8:54:01 PM PDT by Chode (American Hedonist - *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: MNJohnnie
Being a 'Rat makes you thinner?
I'm gonna have to think about that.
23 posted on 09/14/2012 8:56:56 PM PDT by publius911 (Formerly Publius 6961, formerly jennsdad)
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To: publius911

I’d rather be fat then rat


24 posted on 09/14/2012 9:00:43 PM PDT by MNJohnnie (Giving more money to DC to fix the Debt is like giving free drugs to addicts think it will cure them)
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To: La Lydia

Sounds like the libs want to implement Stalin’s “Ukrainian Diet Program.”


25 posted on 09/14/2012 9:17:29 PM PDT by Flag_This (Real presidents don't bow.)
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To: La Lydia
I stepped on the scale this morning. It read 158. I am an old guy(54). I never watch my weight. I eat what I want to eat. I have no cravings for sweets. Last night, I walk into work. The boss was set up in front for 3.00 donation for a bowl of ice cream for the United Way(Big Brown corporate orders for the boss). I paid the money and ate it. I have not had any sweets in years. I felt sick. I am not lactose intolerant.

I just have no sweet tooth.

A dessert for me at a restaurant is a bowl of soup.

Sorry,sugar does not do it for me.

My best friend at work is the water fountain. I sweat a lot, heat does not bother me as long as I keep hydrated.

Beer is good for thirst on the weekend yard work, LOL!

26 posted on 09/14/2012 9:27:40 PM PDT by dancusa (The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it. H.L Mencken)
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To: MtnClimber
Another reason for UN Agenda 21....It is for our health.

No more calls please, we have a winner.

27 posted on 09/14/2012 10:18:20 PM PDT by ProfoundMan (Time to finish the Reagan Revolution! - RightyPics.com)
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To: La Lydia
Two words: CORN-FED :-)
28 posted on 09/14/2012 10:29:28 PM PDT by AF_Blue (According to the American Red Cross, I might be infected with Mad Cow disease)
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To: MNJohnnie

“Rural people are also much much much smarter then urban people”

And you know this how? Your Prince Dubya tell you that?


29 posted on 09/14/2012 10:44:30 PM PDT by KantianBurke (Where was the Tea Party when Dubya was spending like a drunken sailor?)
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To: Cloverfarm
Funny thing about the obese rural people ...

They are rated by the BMI, a formula based on the old height/weight chart.

So, if you are 6-1, weigh 220, and have a 34 inch waist, you are still "obese". They do not differentiate between fat weight and muscle weight in the formula, so heroin chic city kids weigh in just fine, where a kid who has worked on the farm tips the formula as "obese".

With a couple of centuries of genetic selection in flyover country for larger, stronger, and to some degree, stockier folks, and selection for those who fit best in the claustrophobic rat-warrens of urban centers, small wonder there is a difference.

30 posted on 09/14/2012 11:14:21 PM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)
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To: KantianBurke
Exhibit 1

Very few rural areas vote Democrat. Almost all urban areas do.

I see you master 0bama is still running your puppet strings. Don't you ever get tired of being 0bama's mindless stooge?

31 posted on 09/15/2012 4:54:49 AM PDT by MNJohnnie (Giving more money to DC to fix the Debt is like giving free drugs to addicts think it will cure them)
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To: La Lydia

Time for Moochelle to hire about 10 million people to get out there and make these folks as skinny as she is.

32 posted on 09/15/2012 4:55:05 AM PDT by Right Wing Assault (Dick Obama is more inexperienced now than he was before he was elected.)
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To: KantianBurke
KantianBurke (Where was the Tea Party when Dubya was spending like a drunken sailor?)

I see the Conservatives for the Reelection of President 0bama is working over time

Bush and the last GOP Congress 2006 Federal Deficit $160 billion

Obama and the last Dem Congress 2010 Federal Deficit $1.6 Trillion

Even a braindead 0bamabot such as yourself should be able to do that much math.

33 posted on 09/15/2012 4:57:30 AM PDT by MNJohnnie (Giving more money to DC to fix the Debt is like giving free drugs to addicts think it will cure them)
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To: MNJohnnie

Rural areas tend to vote big government; both of the Rat & DNC versions. After all gotta get their free govt bennies the rest of this nation pays for. Nice try though. As for puppet strings, everyone knows yours are held by the RNC. First, holy worship of Dubya - now your undying adulation for the next appointed Prince. Your head will explode if Romney and Bush ever get into a disagreement...till the RNC comes out with the party line of course.


34 posted on 09/15/2012 4:59:40 AM PDT by KantianBurke (Where was the Tea Party when Dubya was spending like a drunken sailor?)
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To: MNJohnnie

“Bush and the last GOP Congress 2006 Federal Deficit $160 billion”

ROTFLMAO! Are you seriously trying to argue that Dubya kept spending low during his time in office??! I guess magic fairies paid for Medicare Part D, NCLB, Aids for Africa, TARP ect ect. Put down the bottle and post again once you’ve sobered up.


35 posted on 09/15/2012 5:04:31 AM PDT by KantianBurke (Where was the Tea Party when Dubya was spending like a drunken sailor?)
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To: La Lydia
"rural obesity is a bigger problem than we realized."

+

"The greatest national security threat that we have is obesity"

=

The greatest national security threat that we have is rural people

36 posted on 09/15/2012 5:13:06 AM PDT by Vortex (Garbage In, Garbage Out)
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To: dancusa

I, too, was born without a sweet tooth. My Dad didn’t have one, either. As far as I am concerned, chocolate is OK, I can take it or leave it and I usually leave it unless it is of very high quality. I try to be disciplined about my diet. But it would never occur to me to tell other people what they should or should not eat. This is a beginning attack on people who live in rural areas, where they are harder for the government to dictate to and control. It is also condescending in the extreme. That it should come from a state with a large ag sector is beyond belief.


37 posted on 09/15/2012 6:01:25 AM PDT by La Lydia
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To: La Lydia; taterjay; MNJohnnie; torchthemummy; kearnyirish2; One Name
I'm a medical student who has done most of my rotations in a rural area. Obesity is rampant and has a huge impact on the quality of life here. Unlike the rest of you, I decided to read the study before commenting. I agree with the article. You guys are being idyllic about the countryside and reactively slandering people you assume have a different viewpoint about it and who bothered to examine it.

I'll note first that this research is repeatable and any one of you could get off your own butts and do it.

University professor to the people who pay her salary and provide her food: You yokels are too fat. We need to find ways to punish you. And you are too dumb to know how tall you are and how much you weigh. You young'uns better watch your back.

Self-reported data showed 20-23% obesity in rural areas and 18-20% in urban areas, versus a measured rate of 39.6% rural and 33.4% urban. Most of these people know very well how tall they are and have some idea of how much they weigh. Most of them will tell you that they're "overweight." What they don't know is how significant their weight is for their height; obesity and the health risks it entails are defined based on the BMI. Both rural and urban severely underestimated their self-reported weights. Unless you happen to think that objectively measuring something is somehow less accurate than guestimating it.

We can shoot straighter too.

Since you made the assertion, I checked, and it turns out that obesity is indeed a risk factor for Peyronie's Disease. (The link's not too graphic, but we were shown a picture in lecture where it curved in a U and pointed downward - ouch!)

Rural people are also much much much smarter then urban people

And more vain too?

The rates of obesity were much higher than previously reported based on self-report... My guess is that rural folk don't lie as much (to themselves or others.)

Nah, both groups severely underestimated their weight as compared to measured values. 16-19% more rural obesity versus 13-15% more urban obesity than based on self-reporting. Really, the numbers almost doubled. That's why it's so important to use actual measurements.

our cities are filling with “replacement Americans” (generally from Latin America and Asia) who are much “lighter” than the multigenerational welfare sows they are displacing in those cities

The study looked at more than just location and BMI. They didn't have enough rural hispanics in the study to be able to compare their differences as a separate group, but the comparison of whites is non-hispanics. Being black was significantly associated with obesity, in addition to the rural difference. Rural black (55.6% obese) > urban black (43.2%) > rural white (38.4%) > urban white (32.1%). But while we're at it, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease are huge in the hispanic population - have you ever eaten at those Mexican restaurants?

The real farm boys, that is. Not the town boys who don’t do sh_t except leave the couch to get a soda.

"Among participants who were active, obesity prevalence was higher among rural compared to urban residents (36.3% [SE = 4.5] and 25.5% [SE = 1.6], respectively; P = .03)."

38 posted on 09/15/2012 7:16:09 AM PDT by Styria
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To: MNJohnnie

Please. Actually had a redneck woman say to me, “What’s all them books you got for? You smart er sumtin?” Oh yeah, that’s so much smarter.


39 posted on 09/15/2012 7:31:29 AM PDT by Melas (u)
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To: Cloverfarm

Check out the Wal-Mart in Jasper, Texas and get back to me. Was there last month, and it was painfully (to my eyes) obvious that obesity is a much bigger problem in Jasper than Dallas.


40 posted on 09/15/2012 7:34:52 AM PDT by Melas (u)
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