Obesity across America: geographic variation in disease prevalence and treatment options
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Urban Institute research report
- Author(s):
- Waidmann, Timothy A., author Waxman, Elaine, author Pancini, Vincent, author Gupta, Poonam, (Of Urban Institute), author Philip Tabb, Loni, author
- Contributor(s):
- Health Policy Center (Urban Institute), issuing body. Urban Institute, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, DC : Urban Institute, February 2022
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Ethnic and Racial Minorities -- statistics & numerical data Health Equity -- economics Health Policy Insurance, Health -- statistics & numerical data Obesity -- ethnology Social Mobility United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Obesity in the US is a widespread chronic health condition, but marked disparities in the prevalence of obesity exist across racial and ethnic groups. This is an important consideration for understanding place-based differences and developing prevention and treatment strategies that can reach communities at highest risk. Long-standing and persistent structural racism in the US has resulted in residential segregation, lower income and assets, fewer health-promoting opportunities, and lower rates of health insurance for many communities of color, and many of these factors have been tied to obesity (Auchincloss et al. 2013; Keisler-Starkey and Bunch 2021; Kershaw and Pender 2016; Kim and von dem Knesebeck 2018; Maharana and Nsoesie 2018; Ogden et al. 2017; Rajbhandari-Thapa et al. 2020). Segregation has also increased exposure to environments considered “obesogenic,” meaning they promote and reinforce unhealthy factors that may increase the likelihood of obesity. Some research suggests the US obesity epidemic would be more severe if not for the lower rates of the condition among many immigrants(Hao and Kim 2009). However, immigrants’ comparative advantage appears to erode the longer they stay in the US. This report presents recent data on the geographic patterns of obesity and related diseases in the US and compares these trends with the availability of national and state-level health insurance, which affects access to obesity treatments. Examining the intersection of the burden of disease with the likelihood of insurance coverage is one step in assessing where policy changes at the state or national level may have the greatest impacts. Our future work will examine geographic variation in policies that affect diet and physical activity and variation in the availability and accessibility of health care services, even when they are covered.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-DC license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (iv, 42 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918486680106676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918486680106676