Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Mar 11;16(6):801.
doi: 10.3390/nu16060801.

Urban-Rural Differences in School Districts' Local Wellness Policies and Policy Implementation Environments

Swati Iyer  1 , Timothy J Walker  2 , Alexandra L MacMillan Uribe  3 , Chad D Rethorst  3 , Rebecca A Seguin-Fowler  4 , Jacob Szeszulski  3
Affiliations

Urban-Rural Differences in School Districts' Local Wellness Policies and Policy Implementation Environments

Swati Iyer et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Higher rates of obesity in rural compared to urban districts suggest environmental differences that affect student health. This study examined urban-rural differences in districts' local wellness policies (LWPs) and LWP implementation environments. Cross-sectional data from two assessments in Texas were analyzed. In assessment one, each district's LWP was reviewed to see if 16 goals were included. In assessment two, an audit was conducted to identify the presence of a wellness plan (a document with recommendations for implementing LWPs), triennial LWP assessment, and school health advisory councils (SHACs) on the district website. Rural districts' LWPs had a smaller number of total goals (B = -2.281, p = 0.014), nutrition education goals (B = -0.654, p = 0.005), and other school-based activity goals (B = -0.675, p = 0.001) in their LWPs, compared to urban districts. Rural districts also had lower odds of having a wellness plan (OR = 0.520, 95% CI = 0.288-0.939), p = 0.030) and a SHAC (OR = 0.201, 95% CI = 0.113-0.357, p < 0.001) to support LWP implementation, compared to urban districts. More resources may be needed to create effective SHACs that can help develop and implement LWPs in rural areas. Important urban-rural differences exist in Texas LWPs and LWP implementation environments.

Keywords: adolescent; children; exercise; nutrition; physical activity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Islami F., Goding Sauer A., Miller K.D., Siegel R.L., Fedewa S.A., Jacobs E.J., McCullough M.L., Patel A.V., Ma J., Soerjomataram I., et al. Proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in the United States. CA Cancer J. Clin. 2018;68:31–54. doi: 10.3322/caac.21440. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cook S., Weitzman M., Auinger P., Nguyen M., Dietz W.H. Prevalence of a metabolic syndrome phenotype in adolescents: Findings from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994. Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 2003;157:821–827. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.157.8.821. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Singh A.S., Mulder C., Twisk J.W., Van Mechelen W., Chinapaw M.J. Tracking of childhood overweight into adulthood: A systematic review of the literature. Obes. Rev. 2008;9:474–488. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2008.00475.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wang Y., Beydoun M.A. The obesity epidemic in the United States—Gender, age, socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and geographic characteristics: A systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Epidemiol. Rev. 2007;29:6–28. doi: 10.1093/epirev/mxm007. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lutfiyya M.N., Lipsky M.S., Wisdom-Behounek J., Inpanbutr-Martinkus M. Is rural residency a risk factor for overweight and obesity for US children? Obes. Silver Spring. 2007;15:2348–2356. doi: 10.1038/oby.2007.278. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources