Individual, social and environmental factors and their association with weight in rural‐dwelling women

Abstract

Abstract Objective: Obesity is a major public health concern and women living in rural settings present a high‐risk group. With contributing factors poorly explored, we evaluated their association with weight in rural Australian women. Methods: Women aged 18–50 years of any body mass index (BMI) were recruited between October 2012 and April 2013 as part of a larger, randomised controlled trial within 42 rural towns. Measured weight and height as well as self‐reported measures of individual health, physical activity, dietary intake, self‐management, social support and environmental perception were collected. Statistical analysis included linear regression for continuous variables as well as chi‐squared and logistic regression for categorical variables with all results adjusted for clustering. Results: 649 women with a mean baseline age and BMI of 39.6±6.7 years and 28.8±6.9 kg/m2 respectively, were studied. Overall, 65% were overweight or obese and 60% overall reported recent weight gain. There was a high intention to self‐manage weight, with 68% attempting to lose weight recently, compared to 20% of women reporting health professional engagement for weight management. Obese women reported increased weight gain, energy intake, sitting time and prevalence of pre‐existing health conditions. There was an inverse relationship between increased weight and scores for self‐management, social support and health environment perception. Conclusions: Many women in rural communities reported recent weight gain and were attempting to self‐manage their weight with little external support. Implications for public health: Initiatives to prevent weight gain require a multifaceted approach, with self‐management strategies and social support in tandem with building a positive local environmental perception.

Keywords

• women
• weight
• rural
• health behaviours
• social support
• environment