Center of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 N. State Street, Jackson, MS 39216, USA.
Prev Chronic Dis. 2011 Jul;8(4):A85. Epub 2011 Jun 15.
Obesity is one of Mississippi's pressing public health problems. Since 2005, the state has ranked first in the nation in adult obesity prevalence. For authorities to take targeted action against the obesity epidemic, counties, regions, and subpopulations that are most affected by obesity need to be identified. The objective of this study was to assess the scope, socioeconomic and geographic characteristics, and temporal trends of the obesity epidemic in Mississippi.
Using 2007-2009 Mississippi Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data and auxiliary data, we applied a small-area estimation method to estimate county-level obesity prevalence in 2007 through 2009, to assess the association between obesity and socioeconomic factors and to evaluate temporal trends. We determined geographic patterns by mapping obesity prevalence. We appraised the precision of estimates by the width of 95% confidence intervals, and we validated our small-area estimates by comparing them with direct estimates.
In 2009, the county prevalence of obesity ranged from 30.5% to 44.2%. Counties with the highest prevalence of obesity were in the Delta region and along the Mississippi River. The obesity prevalence increased from 2007 through 2009. Age, sex, race, education, and employment status were associated with obesity.
The 2009 obesity prevalence in all Mississippi counties was substantially higher than the national average and differed by geography and race. Although urgent intervention measures are needed in the entire state, policies and programs giving higher priority to higher-risk areas and subpopulations identified by this study may be better strategies.
肥胖是密西西比州面临的紧迫公共卫生问题之一。自 2005 年以来，该州成年人肥胖患病率一直位居全美第一。为了让当局能够针对肥胖问题采取有针对性的行动，需要确定受肥胖影响最严重的县、地区和亚人群。本研究的目的是评估密西西比州肥胖流行的范围、社会经济和地理特征以及时间趋势。
我们使用 2007-2009 年密西西比州行为风险因素监测系统数据和辅助数据，应用小区域估计方法，对 2007 年至 2009 年各县的肥胖流行率进行估计，评估肥胖与社会经济因素的关联，并评估时间趋势。我们通过绘制肥胖流行率图来确定地理模式。我们通过 95%置信区间的宽度来评估估计值的精度，并通过与直接估计值进行比较来验证我们的小区域估计值。
2009 年，各县肥胖流行率从 30.5%到 44.2%不等。肥胖流行率最高的县位于三角洲地区和密西西比河沿岸。肥胖流行率从 2007 年到 2009 年呈上升趋势。年龄、性别、种族、教育程度和就业状况与肥胖有关。
2009 年密西西比州所有县的肥胖流行率明显高于全国平均水平，且因地理位置和种族而异。尽管全州都需要采取紧急干预措施，但根据本研究确定的高风险地区和亚人群制定的政策和计划可能是更好的策略。
