Key result
Counties with poorer County Health Rankings scores had a significantly higher prevalence of overweight and obesity among elementary school children compared to counties with better scores (35.7% vs 32.86%, p<0.0001).
Cross-Sectional
Absolute Event Rate: 35.7% vs 32.86%
p-value: p=<0.0001
County-level adult health indicators and social determinants are significantly associated with child obesity prevalence, particularly in younger children.
County health rankings associate with child obesity; hypothesis-generating association requiring prospective studies before guiding interventions.
BACKGROUND: The County Health Rankings (CHR) system provides health rankings for U.S. counties. These factors may have utility for evaluating and predicting health outcomes. This study examined the association between CHR factors and the prevalence of child overweight/obesity (OWOB) in the state of Pennsylvania over 3 years. METHODS: The prevalence of childhood OWOB was obtained for all Pennsylvania school districts for the 2009-10 through 2011-12 school years. Correlational and inferential statistical analyses were used to examine the associations between the prevalence of OWOB in grades K-6 (OWOB1) and 7-12 (OWOB2) and z-score for the overall CHR Health Factors rank, as well as for individual predictive factors (Health Behaviors, Clinical Care, Social and Economic Factors and Physical Environment). RESULTS: Low to moderate correlations (0.29-0.43) were found between OWOB1 and CHR factors. Weaker and less consistent correlations were found for adolescents. There was a significantly higher prevalence of OWOB in counties with poorer CHR scores. CONCLUSIONS: County-level adult indicators of health are significantly associated with levels of child obesity. Future studies should examine the relationship between CHR and other health outcomes.
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Peyer et al. (2016) conducted a cross-sectional in Child overweight and obesity. County Health Rankings (CHR) factors vs. Counties with better CHR scores (lower z-scores) was evaluated on Overweight and obesity prevalence in grades K-6 (p=<0.0001). Counties with poorer County Health Rankings scores had a significantly higher prevalence of overweight and obesity among elementary school children compared to counties with better scores (35.7% vs 32.86%, p<0.0001).
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