The DOI matches its Crossref record; 32 of the 33 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Obesity and Physical Inactivity in Rural America
Abstract
ABSTRACT: Context and Purpose: Obesity and physical inactivity are common in the United States, but few studies examine this issue within rural populations. The present study uses nationally representative data to study obesity and physical inactivity in rural populations. Methods: Data came from the 1998 National Health Interview Survey Sample Adult and Adult Prevention Module. Self‐reported height and weight were used to calculate body mass index. Physical inactivity was defined using self‐reported leisure‐time physical activity. Analyses included descriptive statistics, x 2 tests, and logistic regression. Findings: Obesity was more common among rural (20.4%, 95% CI 19.2%–21.6%) than urban adults (17.8%, 95% CI 17.2%–18.4%). Rural residents of every racial/ethnic group were at higher risk of obesity than urban whites, other factors held equal. Other predictors of obesity included being male, age 25–74, lacking a high school diploma, having physical limitations, fair to poor health, and a history of smoking. Proportionately more rural adults were physically inactive than their urban peers (62.8% versus 59.3%). Among rural residents, minorities were not significantly more likely to be inactive than whites. Males and younger adults were less likely to be inactive. Rural adults who were from the Midwest and South, had less than a high school education, had fair to poor health, and currently smoked were more likely to be inactive compared to their respective referent group. Conclusions: The high prevalence of obesity and inactive lifestyles among rural populations call for research into effective rural interventions.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“In contrast, the 1998 NHIS6 and 2 national physical activity surveys conducted in the late 1990s based on modified BRFSS physical activity items21,22 showed rural adults were less likely to meet physical activity recommendations than urban adults.”
From Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults From Rural and Urban Areas of the United States: Findings From NHANES (2005‐2008) (2012) · cites this paper as [6]
In the citing paper
“Data from the 2000–2001 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)5 and the 1997–1998 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)6 revealed higher obesity prevalence in rural compared to urban counties.”
From Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults From Rural and Urban Areas of the United States: Findings From NHANES (2005‐2008) (2012) · cites this paper as [6]
In the citing paper
“Although a significant rural-urban difference in obesity prevalence has been previously reported using self-reported data from NHIS 1997–1998 and BRFSS 2000–2001 (20–23% and 18–20% for rural and urban, respectively),5,6 the difference in percentage points we observed with measured height and weight was larger (39.6% versus 33.4% for rural and urban, respectively).”
From Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults From Rural and Urban Areas of the United States: Findings From NHANES (2005‐2008) (2012) · cites this paper as [6]
Citations
Cites
(1998) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e565682010-001 · Cited by 9,453
Overweight, obesity, and mortality from cancer in a prospectively studied cohort of U.S. Adults
Calle, E. E., Rodriguez, C., Walker-Thurmond, K., & Thun, M. J. (2003) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmoa021423 · Cited by 7,696
Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999–2000
Flegal, K. M. (2002) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.288.14.1723 · Cited by 6,190
Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General
(1995) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e525162010-001 · Cited by 5,488
The Disease Burden Associated With Overweight and Obesity
Must, A. (1999) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.282.16.1523 · Cited by 4,827
The Continuing Epidemics of Obesity and Diabetes in the United States
Mokdad, A. H. (2001) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.286.10.1195 · Cited by 2,730
The Spread of the Obesity Epidemic in the United States, 1991-1998
Mokdad, A. H. (1999) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.282.16.1519 · Cited by 2,384
Annual Deaths Attributable to Obesity in the United States
Allison, D. B. (1999) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.282.16.1530 · Cited by 1,863
Finkelstein, E. A., Fiebelkorn, I. C., & Wang, G. (2003) · Health Affairs · doi:10.1377/hlthaff.w3.219 · Cited by 1,135
The spread of the obesity epidemic in the United States
Mokdad, A. H., Serdula, M. K., & Dietz, W. H. (1999) · Cited by 985
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 301–386 of 386
Development and Implementation of a Geriatric Walking Clinic.
Padala, K. P., Padala, P. R., Taylor, T. S., Montgomery, B., Lensing, S., Bopp, M. M., Dubbert, P. M., & Sullivan, D. H. (2016) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · Cited by 2
Davidson, T., Boardman, J. D., & Hunter, L. M. (2022) · PubMed · Cited by 2
Yajnik, C. S., Forrester, T., Ramaiya, K. L., Tandon, N., Kale, S. D., & Tulloch-Reid, M. K. (2010) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195317060.003.0024 · Cited by 2
Abshire, D. A., Lennie, T. A., Mudd‐Martin, G., & Moser, D. K. (2017) · Rural and Remote Health · doi:10.22605/rrh3984 · Cited by 2
Overview of the Important Physical Health Concerns
Burke, E. A., O’Dwyer, M., McGlinchey, E., Foran, S., Phadraig, C. M. G., Carroll, R. E., McCallion, P., & McCarron, M. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-90083-4_3 · Cited by 2
Comparing Rural Health and Health Care in Canada and the United States: The Influence of Federalism
Blankenau, J. (2010) · Publius The Journal of Federalism · doi:10.1093/publius/pjp043 · Cited by 1
Masis, N., Reed, D. B., McCool, B., Cooper, J. A., & Lyford, C. P. (2013) · Open Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.4236/ojpm.2013.33039 · Cited by 1
Hatala, J. J., Probst, J. C., Byrd, M., Hale, N. L., & Hardin, J. W. (2013) · Cited by 1
Self-citationPromoting Healthy Eating and Physical Activity
Butterworth, B. (2016) · UKnowledge (University of Kentucky) · doi:10.13023/etd.2016.292 · Cited by 1
Kapp, J. M., Hall, B. J., & Kemner, A. L. (2023) · Maternal and Child Health Journal · doi:10.1007/s10995-023-03780-8 · Cited by 1
Are there place-based disparities in mortality risk? Findings from two longitudinal studies.
Atherton, O. E. (2024) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/hea0001379 · Cited by 1
Perceptions of an acceptance‐based weight management treatment among adults living in rural areas
Bauman, V., Swanson, T. N., Eastman, A., Ross, K. M., & Perri, M. G. (2024) · Clinical Obesity · doi:10.1111/cob.12662 · Cited by 1
Fachineto, S., Cavassini, I., Sampaio, T. V., & Camini, J. (2011) · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · doi:10.17058/cinergis.v12i1.2312 · Cited by 1
Sánchez, E. D. L. C., & Pino‐Ortega, J. (2010) · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Cited by 1
Economic Growth and Adult Obesity Rates in Rural America
Li, Y., & Whitacre, B. E. (2022) · Review of Regional Studies · doi:10.52324/001c.66201 · Cited by 1
Oral health status as a predictor of changes in general health among elderly people
Hämäläinen, P. (2005) · Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja · Cited by 1
A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY MONITORING PRACTICES USED BY MONTANA PEDIATRIC PROVIDERS
Schwarzkopf, N. D. (2008) · Montana State University ScholarWorks (Montana State University) · Cited by 1
A social ecological analysis of physical activity promotion for overweight and normal weight youth
Joens-Matre, R. (2006) · doi:10.31274/rtd-180813-16476 · Cited by 1
A Case Study of Health Risk Behaviors in a Sample of Residents in Rural Appalachia
Ely, G. E., Cook-Craig, P. G., Dignan, M., White, C., Good, S., & Deskins, S. (2010) · Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal · doi:10.61611/2165-4611.1014 · Cited by 1
Rural low-income mothers' perspectives on children's feeding practices
Ball, K. A. (2010) · doi:10.32469/10355/10249 · Cited by 1
Parent Perceptions of a Child Physical Activity Initiative in a Rural Community
Leslie, K. F., King, K. M., Wilson, R. W., Gagné, P., & Jones, V. F. (2020) · American journal of health studies · doi:10.47779/ajhs.2016.162 · Cited by 1
Reinhold, M. M. (2015) · VTechWorks (Virginia Tech) · Cited by 1
Jiang, H., Lin, L., Yonto, D. A., & Moji, K. (2020) · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-42214/v1 · Cited by 1
Ahmmad, M. R., & Faruque, F. (2023) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2023.02.04.23285474 · Cited by 1
Empirical Studies On The Effectiveness Of Soda Taxes To Curb Obesity
Colantuoni, F. (2020) · ScholarWorks@UMassAmherst (University of Massachusetts Amherst) · doi:10.7275/zjzv-8760 · Cited by 1
Chrisman, M. (2013) · doi:10.17077/etd.rs4shj47 · Cited by 1
State-Issued Identification Cards Reveal Patterns in Adult Weight Status
Morris, D. S., Main, E., Harris, J. K., Moland, A., & Cude, C. G. (2015) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph120606388
The Potential for Intersectoral Collaboration in Addressing Rural Health Needs
Pheley, P. J. (2005) · VTechWorks (Virginia Tech)
Diseño de una plataforma interoperable para un observatorio de hábitos y estilos de vida saludable
Torres-Ruiz, A., Martínez-Rueda, R., Duarte, A. A., Lagos, A. S. J., Prieto, B. F., Alba‐Castellón, L., Moreno, P. O. J., Toro, A., Vilardy, R. A., Castro, E., et al. (2015) · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · doi:10.24050/19099762.n17.2015.735
Solving the Obesity Problem One Bite at a Time: A Review of Interventions
Davis, S. C. (2014) · Aquila Digital Community (University of Southern Mississippi)
Wilburn, G. A. (2014) · VTechWorks (Virginia Tech)
The influence of child physical activity programs on parent physical activity in a rural community.
Leslie, K. F. (2015) · ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository (University of Louisville) · doi:10.18297/etd/2027
Windemuth, B., & Murphy, L. S. (2011) · Bariatric Nursing and Surgical Patient Care · doi:10.1089/bar.2011.9946
Sharp, D. (2004) · Journal of Heredity · doi:10.1093/jurban/jth119
Berry, L., Bilinski, H. N., & Wright, A. L. (2013) · Journal of Nursing Education and Practice · doi:10.5430/jnep.v4n2p20
Sands, C. D., Hensarling, R. W., & Angel, J. B. (2009) · Health Education Journal · doi:10.1177/0017896909349260
A Demographic Analysis of Metro/Nonmetro Differences in Adult Normal Weight, Overweight, and Obesity
Sparks, P. J., & Schmidt, S. (2012) · Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Determining factors of physical activity opportunitiesfor rural area adolescents
da Silva, R., Vargas, C. R., Leal, D. B., GrazieleBento, G., & Filho, P. J. B. G. (2013) · International journal of collaborative research on internal medicine & public health
Undernutrition and obesity in pediatric patients admitted in a Romanian hospital
Becheanu, C. A., Leşanu, G., Smadeanu, R. E., & Ţincu, I. F. (2014) · Romanian Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.37897/rjp.2014.4.10
Chrisman, M. (2013) · 141st APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 2 - November 6, 2013)
Fryman, A. (2015) · OHSU Digital Commons · doi:10.6083/m4668bzg
Tremblay, N. (2004) · Constellation (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi) · doi:10.1522/18324613
Heterogeneous behavior, obesity and storability in soft drink consumption: A dynamic demand modelPreprint
Colantuoni, F., & Rojas, C. (2013) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · doi:10.22004/ag.econ.150340
School Based Exercise and Nutrition Intervention: Effects on Health Measures in Rural Children
Harwood, T. M. (2009) · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network)
Helpard, H. (2014) · Library and Archives Canada (Government of Canada)
Food Habits and Physical Activity Patterns Among Children Living in the San Luis Valley, Colorado
Williams, H. S. (2011) · CU Scholar (University of Colorado Boulder)
Comparison of body composition and physical activity of nomadic and urban school students
Mehdi, C. B., Farhad, A. K. G., Hadi, M., Fatemeh, A. B., Mojtahedi, H., & Mohammad, M. S. (2014) · Journal of Research and Health
McNeal, L. (2016) · ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository (University of Louisville) · doi:10.18297/etd/2411
An Examination of Community and Consumer Tobacco and Food Retail Environments
D’Angelo, H. (2019) · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · doi:10.17615/ghmr-0281
Parrott, E. K. (2011) · Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Using Social Theory to Guide Rural Public Health Policy and Environmental Change Initiatives
Kizer, E. A. (2017) · UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona)
Barriers And The Built Environment: An Assessment Of Physical Activity In Rural Appalachia
Parkhurst, H. (2018) · Figshare · doi:10.71889/5fylantbak.29862617
Laing, S. S., Alsayid, M., Christiansen, K., & Dorcy, K. S. (2020) · Avicenna Journal of Medicine · doi:10.4103/ajm.ajm_175_19
Fatty Acid Composition of Forages and Their Effect on the Fatty Acid Composition in Beef Cattle
Allen, B. G. (2021) · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · doi:10.26076/8e80-e114
Understanding health through the eyes of rural adolescents
Morrissey, J. L. (2012) · doi:10.17077/etd.xvg8dr9o
Vergani, M. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-10-8066-1_8
Seggern, M. J. V., Schenkelberg, M. A., Essay, A. M., Kellstedt, D. K., High, R., Welk, G. J., Rosenkranz, R. R., & Dzewaltowski, D. A. (2022) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2140204/v1 · Cited by 1
Lee, H. Y., Hao, Z., & Choi, E. Y. (2023) · Ethnicity and Health · doi:10.1080/13557858.2023.2208314
Casanave-Phillips, K. M. (2023) · doi:10.33915/etd.12035
Cha, G., Kang, J., Thapa, A., Wu, J. R., Heebner, N. R., Biddle, M., Bronas, U. G., Lin, C., Thompson, J. R., & Moser, D. K. (2025) · The Journal of Rural Health · doi:10.1111/jrh.70095
Jämförelse av total energiomsättning och fysisk aktivitetsnivå mellan könen hos överviktiga ungdomar
Bouvin, J., & Mattson, E. (2015) · KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology)
Gamble, A. (2011) · University Microfilms International eBooks
Domogalla, B., Ko, L. K., Jones, R., Ali, W. B., Rodriguez, E. A., Duggan, C., & Perry, C. K. (2021) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.16960315
Seguin‐Fowler, R. A., Hanson, K. L., Villarreal, D. L., Rethorst, C. D., Ayine, P., Folta, S. C., Maddock, J. E., Patterson, M. S., Marshall, G. A., Volpe, L. C., et al. (2022) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.20933460
Jiang, H., Lin, L., Yonto, D. A., Pongvongsa, T., Kounnavong, S., & Moji, K. (2021) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.16633343
Ganasegeran, K., Manaf, M. R. A., Safian, N., Waller, L. A., Mustapha, F. I., Maulud, K. N. A., & Rizal, M. F. M. (2026) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-026-28250-y
Saidi, L. G., Breach, I. A. E., McKelvey, M. L., & Phatak, V. S. (2026) · Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics Plus · doi:10.1016/j.aggp.2026.100319
A phenome-wide association study of rurality in the All of Us Research Program
Awan, A. H., Chaillet, K. S., Williams-Rogers, C., Channa, Y., Shittu, D., Waxse, B. J., Schlueter, D. J., Ferrara, T. M., Denny, J. C., & Mo, H. (2026) · JAMIA Open · doi:10.1093/jamiaopen/ooag086
Afzal, S. S., Khatri, I., Bahzad, M., Fatima, Z., Wadood, A., Aminpoor, H., & Sajid, M. (2026) · Health Science Reports · doi:10.1002/hsr2.73193
Delgado, H., Meyer, M. R. U., Ylitalo, K. R., Beattie, C. M., & Sharkey, J. R. (2026) · Journal of Healthy Eating and Active Living · doi:10.51250/jheal.v6i2.118
Beam, J. T. (2015) · Digital Commons (Liberty University)
Smalls, M. N. B. (2013) · D-Scholarship@Pitt (University of Pittsburgh)
Metadata
- Authors
- Patterson, P. D., Moore, C. G., Probst, J. C., & Shinogle, J. A.
- Affiliations
- University of South Carolina (US)
- Corresponding author
- Patterson, Paul Daniel
- Venue
- The Journal of Rural Health
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2004-03
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 151-159
- ISSN
- 0890-765X (ISSN-L)
- 1748-0361
- OpenAlex
- W2098748795
- Cited by
- 387
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 33 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 24
- FWCI
- 9.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journal of Rural Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Scholar Commons (University of South Carolina) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Public Health Service (1 U1C RH 00045-02)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity and Health Practices
- Keywords
- obesity, physical inactivity, rural population, urban-rural differences, body mass index, leisure-time physical activity, smoking, educational attainment, health status, racial and ethnic disparities
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Female, Humans, Life Style, Male, Middle Aged, Motor Activity, Obesity, Rural Health, Socioeconomic Factors, United States, Urban Health, Body Mass Index, Prevalence, Logistic Models, Age Distribution, Sex Distribution
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review