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Urban–rural comparison of weight status among women and children living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods

Sharon L Brennan, Margaret J Henry, Geoffrey C Nicholson and Julie A Pasco
Med J Aust 2010; 193 (3): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03851.x
Published online: 2 August 2010

To the Editor: We read with interest the article by Cleland and colleagues describing an urban–rural comparison of weight status among women living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods.1 After adjusting for socio-demographic factors, the authors reported no difference in prevalence of obesity, determined using women’s self-reported height and weight, between urban and rural areas. We would like to provide further evidence for the suggestion that obesity might be attributable to sociodemographic composition of areas.


  • 1 Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC.
  • 2 Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Barwon Health, University of Melbourne, Geelong, VIC.


Correspondence: Sharon.Brennan@monash.edu

Acknowledgements: 

We thank the participants who gave freely of their time and made this study possible, and Assoc Prof Mark Kotowicz for his input. This work was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia. Sharon Brennan was supported by an NHMRC PhD Scholarship (519404).

  • 1. Cleland V, Hume C, Crawford D, et al. Urban–rural comparison of weight status among women and children living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Med J Aust 2010; 192: 137-140. <MJA full text>
  • 2. Brennan SL, Henry MJ, Nicholson GC, et al. Socioeconomic status and risk factors for obesity and metabolic disorders in a population-based sample of adult females. Prev Med 2009; 49: 165-171.
  • 3. Brennan SL, Henry MJ, Nicholson GC, et al. Socioeconomic status, obesity and lifestyle in men: the Geelong Osteoporosis Study. J Mens health 2010; 7: 31-41.
  • 4. Australian Bureau of Statistics. An introduction to Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2006. Canberra: ABS, 2006. (ABS Cat. No. 2039.0.)
  • 5. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Statistical Geography: Volume 3 — Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Urban Centres/Localities, 2006. Canberra: ABS, 2007. (ABS Cat. No. 2909.0.)

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