What can rural health care providers do to address obesity and overweight?
Rural clinics and hospitals can offer classes that encourage healthy diet and exercise, such as sessions on nutrition, how to prevent heart disease, controlling diabetes, and similar topics. Hospitals that have exercise equipment for cardio/pulmonary rehabilitation may want to make their workout areas available to the entire community. Primary health care providers can be a good resource for providing information on healthy diet and physical activity to their patients. Because rural areas often have limited access to nutritionists or dietitians, health care providers may benefit from additional training in nutrition. Primary care providers can also benefit from more training in behavioral and preventive sciences concepts and strategies to increase their skills and confidence in motivating patients to change unhealthy behaviors.
