University of Washington Uses New Method to Track Obesity

New research from the University of Washington explores a new avenue in the search for the reasons behind the epidemic of obesity in the United States.

They claim that where you live and how much your house costs can predict your chance of becoming obese. Their research shows that for every $100,000 in the median price of homes in any given zip code, the obesity rate dropped by 2%.

They based their study on a survey conducted in King County, Washington. The study was conducted by the local health department in cooperation with the Federal Centers for Disease Control. They found that in the Seattle metropolitan area, obesity rates in the most deprived areas were at 30% and in the most affluent areas it was 5%.

Working in cooperation with Public Health-Seattle & King County, which is the local health agency in Seattle, they were able to combine the results of the data from many years at the Washington state's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which contained data from 8,000 participants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention use the same kind of data to chart the rising obesity rates in the United States state by state. However, most states do not classify the data by ZIP codes like Washington does. The Zip code system is a much more detailed way to track local obesity. The additional information used in the survey came from the Census data.

Looking at the reasons behind the finding, they look at the probability that more prosperous areas will give more of an opportunity to obtain healthy foods and/or give more opportunities for exercise.

Previous studies that at the subject of obesity based on racial and ethnic minority groups as well as groups in the lower income range and those with lower levels of education, and showed that these groups had a higher level of obesity.

When the aniline the data from this survey, it showed that 26% of African Americans and 16% of Whites had a high level of obesity. Those who had annual incomes less than $15,000 had 20%, those with incomes above $50,000, 50%, all of them in line with the findings in the other surveys.