The state of Alabama has held the title of No. 1 in college football for the last four years, but it also holds a top spot in another, not so celebrated category – obesity.

“I think the citizens of Alabama run into issues of an imbalanced lifestyle because we are a culture that doesn’t support daily necessary physical activity,” Sheena Gregg, assistant director of health promotion and wellness, said at the 14th annual Rural Health Conference. “And the food that is cost-effective for most families is often not the most nutrient dense.”

The Feb. 20 conference, hosted by the College of Community Health Sciences and The Institute of Rural Health Research, focused on the topic of obesity in Alabama, and how it leads to other chronic health problems, such as diabetes.

Gregg shared in a lecture at the conference that Alabama’s obesity rate of 33 percent was higher than the national average of 27.6 percent, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2010.

Lea Yerby, assistant professor in the department of community health sciences and coordinator of the conference, said the topic of obesity prevention in rural communities was chosen because it is a leading cause of preventable death.

“Alabama has a disproportional share of chronic disease burden, and a lot of that comes from our obesity rate,” Yerby said.

Yerby said rural communities have a higher risk than urban areas most likely because of longer commutes to work, when it is easier to pick up fast food on the way home.

“If you have $5, and you have to eat, you’re going to buy something that has more calories and more fat like a value meal or frozen pizza as opposed to buying ingredients to make food,” Yerby said.

Yerby also said food deserts, areas not located near grocery stores with fresh produce, contribute to high obesity rates in rural areas.

Yerby said the Rural Health Conference offers people in rural communities a chance to create partnerships to combat these issues. The University offers resources and academic partnerships with professors to figure out how to best help a community.

“The University might have a lot of info and science, but we’re not able to change by ourselves,” Yerby said. “The people that will be able to change a community is that community.”

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