Influence of the rural food and physical activity environment on the weight status of childbearing women

Our environment is increasingly recognized for its role in influencing our ability to make healthy choices. Unfortunately, little work has investigated the effects of the rural food and physical activity environment on weight and health. This paper will investigate the unique food and physical activity challenges faced by 600 women of childbearing-age living within a predominantly rural 9-county area of Upstate, NY. To investigate the food environment, every participant household was mapped and all retail food outlets within 25 miles of the home were identified. In total 900+ retail food outlets were identified and examined in-person using a standardized survey to enumerate the number of fresh fruits and vegetables available, as well as the number of healthy and less healthy food choices offered within 11 common culturally-relevant food categories (e.g. the number of varieties of whole what bread vs. white bread). Price information for a market-basket of common food items was also collected. Both sets of information were used to characterize the healthfulness of each woman's “food environment”. Similarly, the availability of locations for physical activity (free and fee-based) were mapped to identify and characterize each woman's “physical activity environment.” The relationship between these food and physical activity environments (using a 5, 15, and 25 mile radius around the household) and each woman's BMI was investigated.