Out of reach? Rural elders have highest rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease

June 14, 2011 in Health

Despite living in the countryside, where open space is plentiful and there is often significant agricultural production, California's more than half a million rural elders are far more likely to be overweight or obese, physically inactive and food insecure than their suburban counterparts, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

All three conditions are risk factors for , and repeated falls — conditions also more prevalent among rural elders.

Approximately 710,000 Californians aged 65 and over live in the countryside — almost one-fifth of all older adults in the state. Yet rural elders experience unique challenges to healthy living, including a lack of sidewalks, street lights, transportation services, access to healthy food outlets, parks, exercise facilities and health care sites. California's rural areas are also challenged by a dearth of physicians and other primary care providers, compelling many seniors to travel long distances to seek care.

"The countryside can have an isolating effect," said Steven P. Wallace, the center's associate director and a co-author of the policy brief, "The Health Status and Unique Health Challenges of Rural Older Adults in California." "When even a trip to the grocery store is a significant drive, seniors can become trapped in their houses."

Using data from the 2007 California Health Interview Survey, center researchers found:

  • Rural older adults are more likely to be overweight and obese
  • Older adults in rural areas are more often overweight or obese (61.3 percent) than their urban (57.3 percent) and suburban (54.0 percent) counterparts.
  • Rural older adults do not get enough exercise
  • One in five rural elders do not participate in either moderate or vigorous physical activity in their leisure time.
  • Rural and urban older adults are more likely to be food insecure
  • One in five low-income older adults in rural settings report that they cannot consistently afford enough food to last the month. This rate is about twice that of low-income suburban adults.
Rural adults also have higher rates of heart disease and repeated falls and are more likely to be low-income than suburban older adults, a factor that exacerbates many health conditions.

Because so many of the health problems encountered by living in the countryside are structural, the authors of the study recommend that policymakers consider a range of strategies to make rural environments more senior-friendly. Those recommendations include "senior walkability plans": identification of the routes seniors often use and subsequent improvements to those routes, including the creation or improvement of sidewalks, lighting and seating/benches.

The study's authors also note that distance barriers faced by rural elders can be reduced with the help of the Internet in a variety of ways, including in-home monitoring, patient self-management and online ordering of prescriptions. However, they note that infrastructure and adoption hurdles in rural communities — including a lack of broadband infrastructure and an insufficient information technology workforce — must be addressed and that there must be assurances that insurance companies will fully reimburse rural providers that use telemedicine.

Other recommendations include the use of "universal design" principles in all public contracting, the promotion of federal subsidies and assistance programs to rural grocery stores and other food outlets, expanded transportation services, and better incentives for primary care providers who work in rural areas.

Provided by University of California - Los Angeles

not rated yet  

Rank not rated yet
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Bed sharing with parents increases risk of cot death fivefold

Bed sharing with parents is linked to a fivefold increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), even when the parents are non-smokers and the mother has not been drinking alcohol and does not use illegal drugs, according ...

Health created 4 hours ago | popularity 1.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Sports seem OK for many with heart-zapping device

Doctors tell people with a heart-zapping device in their chests to give up intense sports like basketball and soccer in favor of golf or bowling. But lots of patients ignore that advice—and now new research is challenging ...

Health created 5 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Gym class reduces probability of obesity, study finds for first time

Little is known about the effect of physical education (PE) on child weight, but a new study from Cornell University finds that increasing the amount of time that elementary schoolchildren spent in gym class reduces the probability ...

Health created 7 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Prenatal exposure to traffic is associated with respiratory infection in young children

Living near a major roadway during the prenatal period is associated with an increased risk of respiratory infection developing in children by the age of 3, according to a new study from researchers in Boston.

Health created 9 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Combined wood and tobacco smoke exposure increases risk and symptoms of COPD

People who are consistently exposed to both wood smoke and tobacco smoke are at a greater risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and for experiencing more frequent and severe symptoms of the disease, ...

Health created 9 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


The compound in the Mediterranean diet that makes cancer cells 'mortal'

New research suggests that a compound abundant in the Mediterranean diet takes away cancer cells' "superpower" to escape death. By altering a very specific step in gene regulation, this compound essentially re-educates cancer ...

Do salamanders hold the solution to regeneration?

Salamanders' immune systems are key to their remarkable ability to regrow limbs, and could also underpin their ability to regenerate spinal cords, brain tissue and even parts of their hearts, scientists have ...

Scientists identify molecular trigger for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have pinpointed a catalytic trigger for the onset of Alzheimer's disease – when the fundamental structure of a protein molecule changes to cause a chain reaction that leads to the death of neurons ...

Practice makes perfect? Not so much

Turns out, that old "practice makes perfect" adage may be overblown. New research led by Michigan State University's Zach Hambrick finds that a copious amount of practice is not enough to explain why people ...

Older prostate cancer patients should think twice before undergoing treatment

Older prostate cancer patients with other underlying health conditions should think twice before committing to surgery or radiation therapy for their cancer, according to a multicenter study led by researchers in the UCLA ...

New test better detects elephantiasis worm infection

A new diagnostic test for a worm infection that can lead to severe enlargement and deformities of the legs and genitals is far more sensitive than the currently used test, according to results of a field ...