Funny thing about the obese rural people ... I live way out in fly-over country and don’t see it that way. Matter of fact, while watching the kids at the state fair dairy cattle show I noticed a trend. Of the 50 or so participants from all over the state ... only one was noticeably overweight.
There’s some genetics involved, too. My most active kid helps his dad on the farm, mows our yard and our in-laws’, worked with 4-H calves, worked at the neighbor’s tree nursery, took care of a big garden all summer ... he’s kind of big.
His teen-age sister, who spends an awful lot of time on the computer or watching TV, is basically a stick. The youngest is in between the two extremes. Go figure ...
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.
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.