Appalachia

http://news.virginia.edu/content/what-rural-appalachia-eats-and-doesn-t-eat-and-why-studying-it-matters
What Rural Appalachia Eats, and Doesn’t Eat, and Why Studying It Matters
December 4, 2013
Christine Phelan Kueter

Very little salad. An overabundance of potatoes. Mountains of rice, white bread and other boxed starches, as well as dried beans, sweet potatoes, cornbread and collard greens.

But how does understanding what lines the grocery store shelves in rural Appalachia impact the way residents and public health nurses combat issues such as diabetes and obesity?

That’s the subject of University of Virginia School of Nursing doctoral student Esther Thatcher’s dissertation, which aims to assess food access in far Southwestern Virginia (specifically Lee, Wise and Scott counties). Thatcher is mapping what comestibles are available, how expensive they are and what’s ultimately consumed – as well as how it’s cooked. With diabetes and obesity at epic proportions in rural, impoverished regions in Southwestern Virginia, Thatcher’s research aims to help identify the variety of food factors that public health nurses and others can potentially use to combat chronic health problems.

“There’s been a rapid shift from a labor force made up of jobs that entail hard, physical labor to jobs that are much more sedentary,” she explained, “but meals haven’t really changed. Food here is still defined by very strong traditions and remains central to gatherings and cultural identity.”.... MORE at link posted above.