Nutrition and Overweight Concerns in Rural Areas - Essay Example

"Nutrition and Overweight Concerns in Rural Areas" is a wonderful example of a paper on social and family issues. Contrary to common belief, rural residents experience an increased prevalence of obesity and overweight compared to their urban counterparts in the US. However, statistical data prove that this is indeed true. Considering the differential lifestyles between urban and rural populations, the statistics are actually not a surprise. Rural communities are indeed likely to be more obese and overweight considering the fact that they have much higher calorie intake as compared to their counterparts in urban areas.

Most significantly, a large population in the rural areas is likely to adopt sedentary lifestyles considering that life in rural areas is not as busy as in urban areas (Tai-Seale & Chandler, 2010).Another important factor worth considering is the fact that rural populations are less sensitized to health and nutrition as compared to their counterparts in urban areas since health facilities in rural areas are less. On a similar thought, the influence of modern lifestyle and trends is much less effective in rural areas as opposed to urban areas.

Whereas people in urban areas are sensitive about personality, the rural population is less likely to be worried about obesity and overweight. Surprising statistics reveal that the rural population spends much more time watching television. Ideally, this becomes one of the predisposing factors to obesity and overweight considering that it encourages a sedentary lifestyle. Additionally, watching television exposes the rural population to high-calorie commercials and advertisements. Therefore, the rural population become increased consumers of junk and high-calorie foods hence the high obesity and overweight figures.

It is also possible that rural populations have fewer opportunities to do physical exercise, especially in learning institutions. It is indeed argued that schools in rural areas have fewer physical exercise classes as compared to urban areas and this could be a contributing factor to obesity and overweight among children in rural areas.