Where You Live May Affect What You Weigh.

Adult obesity rates in the U.S. have reached epidemic proportions, with one in four people considered obese. Yet, obesity rates vary considerably across states and counties. Such geographic variation raises questions about the influence of community and regional factors on obesity, say researchers at the Yale Global Health Leadership Institute, who explored community-level factors that may be associated with reduced adult obesity rates in counties within states that have a high rate.

Individuals who are obese are more likely to develop chronic diseases, and the annual cost of obesity in the U.S. is approximately $325,000,000,000.

The study, published Biomed Central, identified six U.S. counties that, based on environmental influences, should have high obesity rates. However, these locales had lower rates of adult obesity, suggesting they used uncommon but successful strategies that enabled better outcomes than other, similar counties.

'Through visits and interviews with community leaders and government officials, we identified several recurrent themes and strategies," says researcher Maureen Caravan. 'We discovered that counties...

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