Associations between neighborhood-level factors related to a healthful lifestyle and dietary intake, physical activity, and support for obesity prevention polices among rural adults.

We examined cross-sectional associations among neighborhood- and individual-level factors related to a healthful lifestyle and dietary intake, physical activity (PA), and support for obesity prevention polices in rural eastern North Carolina adults. We examined perceived neighborhood barriers to a healthful lifestyle, and associations between neighborhood barriers to healthy eating and PA, participants' support for seven obesity prevention policies, and dependent variables of self-reported dietary and PA behaviors, and measured body mass index (BMI) (n = 366 study participants). We then used participants' residential addresses and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to assess neighborhood-level factors related to access to healthy food and PA opportunities. Correlational analyses and adjusted linear regression models were used to examine associations between neighborhood-level factors related to a healthful lifestyle and dietary and PA behaviors, BMI, and obesity prevention policy support. The most commonly reported neighborhood barriers (from a list of 18 potential barriers) perceived by participants included: not enough bicycle lanes and sidewalks, not enough affordable exercise places, too much crime, and no place to buy a quick, healthy meal to go. Higher diet quality was inversely related to perceived and GIS-assessed neighborhood nutrition barriers. There were no significant associations between neighborhood barriers and PA. More perceived neighborhood barriers were positively associated with BMI. Support for obesity prevention policy change was positively associated with perceptions of more neighborhood barriers. Neighborhood factors that promote a healthful lifestyle were associated with higher diet quality and lower BMI. Individuals who perceived more neighborhood-level barriers to healthy eating and PA usually supported policies to address those barriers. Future studies should examine mechanisms to garner such support for health-promoting neighborhood changes.

Addressing rural health disparities through policy change in the stroke belt.

CONTEXT: Obesity-prevention policies are needed, particularly in low-income rural areas of the southern United States, where obesity and chronic disease prevalence are high. In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the "Common Community Measures for Obesity Prevention" (COCOMO), a set of 24 recommended community-level obesity-prevention strategies. OBJECTIVE: A variety of stakeholders in Lenoir County, North Carolina, were surveyed and interviewed, ranking the winnability, defined as feasibility and acceptability, of each of the 24 COCOMO-recommended strategies based on local culture, infrastructure, funding, and community support. DESIGN: Mixed-methods. SETTING: This study was part of the Heart Healthy Lenoir project, a community-based project to reduce cardiovascular disease risk and disparities in risk in Lenoir County, North Carolina. PARTICIPANTS: COCOMO assessments were conducted with 19 Community Advisory Council members and in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 community stakeholders. Heart Healthy Lenoir lifestyle intervention participants (n = 366) completed surveys wherein they ranked their support for 7 obesity-prevention strategies (based on the COCOMO strategies). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ranking of obesity-prevention strategies. RESULTS: Policies to improve physical activity opportunities were deemed the most winnable, whereas policies that would limit advertisement of unhealthy food and beverages were deemed the least winnable. The most winnable food-related strategy was improving mechanisms to procure food from local farms. Stakeholders perceived the public as unfavorably disposed toward government mandates, taxes, and incentives. Among Heart Healthy Lenoir participants, males indicated lower levels of support for COCOMO-related strategies than females, and African Americans indicated higher levels of support than white participants. CONCLUSION: The formative work presented here provides insight into the winnability of proposed obesity-prevention policy change strategies in Lenoir County, North Carolina.

A community-driven approach to identifying "winnable" policies using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Common Community Measures for Obesity Prevention.

Federally funded, community-based participatory research initiatives encourage the development and implementation of obesity prevention policies. In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published the Common Community Measures for Obesity Prevention (COCOMO), which include recommended strategies and measures to guide communities in identifying and evaluating environmental and policy strategies to prevent obesity. Agreeing on "winnable" policy issues can be challenging for community members. We used CDC's COCOMO to structure in-depth interviews and group discussions with local stakeholders (ie, planners, town managers, and a local community advisory council) to stimulate interest in and identify health-promoting policies for local policy and planning agendas. We first asked stakeholders to rank the COCOMO recommendations according to feasibility and likelihood of success given community culture, infrastructure, extent of leadership support, and likely funding support. Rankings were used to identify the most and least "winnable" COCOMO policy strategies. We then used questions from the evidence-based Community Readiness Handbook to aid discussion with stakeholders on the facilitators and barriers to enacting the most and least winnable policy options identified. Finally, we discuss potential adaptations to COCOMO for rural jurisdictions.