Built Environments and Active Living in Rural and Remote Areas: a Review of the Literature

Rural children and adults are more likely to have obesity than their urban counterparts even after adjustment for individual-level behaviors, suggesting that rural environments may promote obesity. The rural built environment may be an important area of research that can help us understand rural–urb...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current obesity reports 2015-12, Vol.4 (4), p.484-493
Main Authors: Hansen, Anush Yousefian, Umstattd Meyer, M. Renée, Lenardson, Jennifer D., Hartley, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Behavioral Therapy
Cardiology
Child
Diabetes
Economy and Environment (I Janssen
Endocrinology
Environment Design
Health Promotion
Humans
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Metabolic Diseases
Pediatric Obesity - prevention & control
Prevalence
Residence Characteristics
Rural Population
Section Editor
Social Environment
Topical Collection on Economy and Environment
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Summary:Rural children and adults are more likely to have obesity than their urban counterparts even after adjustment for individual-level behaviors, suggesting that rural environments may promote obesity. The rural built environment may be an important area of research that can help us understand rural–urban disparities in obesity. The purpose of this review is to summarize the rural built environment and active living literature, and to address key issues, gaps, and observations in the field. A literature review was conducted in spring 2015 to identify research published from 2000 to 2015. Our review suggests that limited active living built environments in rural communities and unique rural barriers to physical activity may contribute to a higher prevalence of obesity compared to urban populations. More empirical research is needed to build the evidence-base for the association between rural built environments, active living, and obesity. School- and community-based policies that expand active living opportunities in rural areas should also be closely examined.
ISSN:2162-4968
2162-4968
DOI:10.1007/s13679-015-0180-9