Posted on 08/30/2007 4:38:04 PM PDT by blam
Source: University of Washington
Date: August 30, 2007
ZIP Codes And Property Values Predict Obesity Rates
Science Daily — Neighborhood property values predict local obesity rates better than education or incomes, according to a study from the University of Washington being published online recently by the journal Social Science and Medicine. For each additional $100,000 in the median price of homes, UW researchers found, obesity rates in a given ZIP code dropped by 2 percent.
The study, based on analyses of responses to a telephone survey conducted in King County by the local health department and the federal Centers for Disease Control, found six-fold disparities in obesity rates across the Seattle metropolitan area. Obesity rates reached 30 percent in the most deprived areas but were only around 5 percent in the most affluent ZIP codes.
"Obesity is an economic issue," said Dr. Adam Drewnowski, director of the UW Center for Obesity Research and leader of the study. "Knowing more about the geography of obesity will allow us to identify the most vulnerable neighborhoods."
Working with the local health agency, Public Health-Seattle & King County, the researchers aggregated multiple-year data from Washington state's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to analyze data for more than 8,000 respondents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention use the same data to map rising obesity rates in the United States at the state level. However, unlike most states, Washington codes the BRFSS data by the respondents' ZIP code, which permits more detailed analyses of local obesity rates at a finer geographic scale. Other information about the ZIP code areas was provided by data from the U.S. Census.
Residential property values were used as a proxy measure of ZIP code socioeconomic status. "Incomes are not the same as assets and wealth," said Drewnowski. "The chief financial asset for most Americans is their home."
Area prosperity can also be a good predictor of access to healthy foods, or opportunities for exercise.
The UW study was the first to examine obesity rates by area-based indexes of poverty and wealth across a metropolitan area. Previous studies have found higher obesity rates among racial and ethnic minorities and groups of lower education and incomes. Analyses of the same BRFSS data for King County showed that obesity rates were higher for African-Americans (26 percent) than for whites (16 percent), and were higher for people with annual incomes below $15,000 (20 percent) than for those with incomes above $50,000 (15 percent), all consistent with national trends. These disparities were much lower than those dependent on ZIP codes and geographic location. The study concluded that social and economic disparities were more important in predicting obesity than previously thought.
Well-known maps of rising obesity rates in the United States, also based on BRFSS data, showed only small differences among the poorest and the richest states.
"Those maps were used to support that argument that the obesity epidemic did not discriminate," said Drewnowski. "Our research shows that geography, social class, and economic standing all play huge roles in the obesity problem. Some of the most disadvantaged areas -- those hardest hit by low income, low education, and low property values -- are also the ones most affected by the obesity epidemic."
The study co-authors were Dr. David Solet, Epidemiology Unit, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health, and Colin Rehm, epidemiologist, Snohomish Health District, Snohomish County, Wash. The research was supported by the Roadmap grant from the National Institutes of Health, through the UW Center for Obesity Research.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of Washington.
“Community kitchens” - great post!
Two percent in a one-on-one variation is a rounding error. But that's not what this article about. it's 2% per $100K in median home value. If the sample size is reasonably large and the trend is fairly consistent, it's worth noting.
Furthermore, I suspect there's a distinction that most MSM reporters mess up and most readers can't quite follow, either -- the difference between percent and percentage points.
Suppose, for example, that 25% of the people in one ZIP code are obese. Next ZIP over, it's 20 percent lower. 25 - (25 x .20) = 25 - 5 = 20%.
But fif the next zip is twenty percentage points lower, 25 - 20 = 5%.
A difference of two percent doesn't' mean much. A consistent difference of two percentage points, when the range is from 5% to 30%, is significant.
It may mean that people who earn less are less disciplined ... care less.
Thanks. I hate to fall back on the cliché, but it's past time to work smarter, not harder -- to specifically target the need and tailor programs to fit. And the effectiveness is measured by the successes achieved, not by the amount of money spent.
I naively thought, once, that "compassionate conservatism" meant something like that. Turns out it just meant more deeply feathering different beds.
I was in Whole Foods yesterday, they were selling heirloom tomatoes for $5.99/lb that I grow in my backyard FOR FREE. (Well, not for free free, the seedlings cost $2.99 at Home Depot)
My zip code was changed last year. What impact will that have on my weight? :0)
The US is the only country in the world where poor people are fat.
Pardon me, but there are no “benign” results of negative behavior, unless maybe hitting rock bottom leads one to WAKE UP.
There is nothing benign about depression, whether it’s manifested in overeating, or drug use (zoning out).
IMO obesity is pretty darn malignant ~ and 100% curable.
That's one of those places where you have to weigh the relative value of your time, effort and skill. I have a brown thumb and a yard made mostly of red clay, and we're in the middle of a drought. For me to try to grow 'maters would most likely be futile, not at all fun, and pretty costly.
That said, the same tomatoes are probably at the DeKalb Farmer's Market for half the price. Not so well screened to be pretty, so you have to take more be more selective, but that's another trade-off. Either way, from Whole Foods (or Whole Paycheck, as it's sometimes called) or the farmer's market, or your own garden, better something with real flavor than the rubbery things on the supermarket aisles.
I admit I'm not a big tomato fan -- where this really struck me is in apples. Not to be blunt, but supermarket apples suck. Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples are the most misnamed produce ever. Granny Smiths have a little more tartness, a little bit of flavor, but the same Turtle Wax feel and the texture of sawdust.
The bottled "apple juice" on the shelf is little more than wee-colored sugar water. Oh, it's sweet and it's nutritious, and it's fine for kindergartners, but come one. I want some flavor, already.
But when you find a roadside stand in the Smokies or the Blue Ridge, in North Georgia, the Carolinas, or Tennessee, just damn. Apples no bigger than a tennis ball. Their color is all freckled and mottled. You'll want to feel them over and look for bruises or worm holes. But when you take a bite, WOW. This is what an apple tastes like. An apple that wasn't bred to survive two weeks in a box car to look pretty on a store shelf. This was something bred to be eaten.
While I'm at that stand, I'll almost always pick up a gallon (at least) of the murky, cloudy cider, a jar of Vidalia onion relish, and a bag of boiled peanuts. I can't turn down the boiled peanuts. And they're so easy to make, every stand has them.
>There are real people facing real obstacles not of their making.<
I am not sure I have ever met anyone who was forced to eat a lousy diet. Most of the stories and times I can recall are about eggplant, broccili or some other healthy food.
I planted tomatoes this year for the first time. I did not have a CLUE what I was doing. I bought seven different seedlings at Home Depot and stuck 'em in the ground.
The results have been amazing, and delicious.
Women children and minorities hardest hit !
In a striking irony, I would bet that certain zip codes and property values could predict annorexia and bulemia.
The study co-authors were Dr. David Solet, Epidemiology Unit, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health, and Colin Rehm, epidemiologist, Snohomish Health District, Snohomish County, Wash. The research was supported by the Roadmap grant from the National Institutes of Health, through the UW Center for Obesity Research.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of Washington.
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You bet it is an economic issue. Our taxes!
Ever heard of a crockpot? Toss the ingredients in, let it simmer while you are at work.
You can cook rice in a ricecooker with about 2 minutes of work.
Add the contents of the former with the latter, and you'll have a cheap, tasty meal in less time than it takes to stand in line at BK.
Chicken or the egg? Do poor people have problems because they lack community spirit, or does their lack of community spirit (and self-reliance) make them poor?
Possibly. I'd guess that along with obesity, you'll see higher rates of smoking, and possible higher rates of alcoholism.
Nevertheless, Whole Foods deserves kudos for labeling where their meat, seafood and produce come from and for carrying LOCAL produce in season. They are, for example, the only national chain that has gulf shrimp on a regular basis. The same can't be said for the larger chains, which seem to only carry "dirty water" shrimp from 'nam and Indonesia.
It boils down to money and social status. The more money and the higher the social status, the more people care about their appearance. In most instances, this correlates into a greater appreciation for health and fitness, along with the disposable income to make it happen.
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