Document Type
Presentation (Class or campus)
Scholarship Type
Student Scholarship
Presentation Date
12-6-2016
Event Name and Location of Presentation
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Student Poster Session
Instructor(s) or Advisor(s)
Mike Winiski
Abstract
In 2015, the rate of adult obesity in South Carolina was nearly 32%, which places South Carolina as the 13th worst state when it comes to the prevalence of adult obesity. Along with overall rates of adult obesity, South Carolina has the 8th highest high school student obesity rate with 16.3% of high school students being obese. These statistics are troubling because obesity is a primary cause of Type II Diabetes, high blood pressure, and many other negative health effects. These health care issues then affect supply and demand for health care, advertising, physical exercise, and many other market segments, making the obesity epidemic an overarching problem in the state of South Carolina and the United States. What, then, is causing these alarming rates of obesity in South Carolina? To answer this important public health question, the relationship between density of fast food locations, physical inactivity, median income, and access to healthy food retailers will be analyzed to find the economic and geographic conditions that lead to high obesity rates in South Carolina. This study will use GIS practices to visually map obesity, physical inactivity, income, distance to healthy food retailers, and fast food location data to find the source of South Carolina’s obesity epidemic.
Additional Affiliated Department, Center or Institute
Center for Teaching and Learning
Recommended Citation
Bennett, Tom, "Spatial Distribution of High Obesity Rates in South Carolina" (2016). Earth and Environmental Sciences Presentations. 19.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/ees-presentations/19