Study finds higher rate of diabetes in rural areas

A new study published by the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford shows that instances of diabetes among adults are higher in rural populations than in urban.

Mike DeDoncker of The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass., writes, "9.7 percent of the adults living in rural areas, identified as being outside metropolitan or suburban areas, had diabetes and 8.2 percent in the metropolitan and suburban areas had diabetes." That means that rural residents are 16 percent more likely to develop diabetes.

The study did not look for contributing factors, but it seems counterintuitive to DeDoncker, who writes, "You would think that, living in a rural area, maybe you were eating better, healthier foods and maybe being more physically active as opposed to people living in the city who you might think would be getting more fatty foods, being very sedentary and using their car to go to everywhere."(Read more) But other studies have indicated that as rural residents become dependent on motor vehicles to get to jobs, often far from their homes, they become less active and have less time for physical activity.