Research

Adherence

Higher county-level primary care physician (PCP) supply is associated with lower adult obesity rates, with individuals in counties with the highest PCP supply being approximately 20% less likely to be obese than those in counties with the lowest supply.

If you live in an area with few primary care doctors, you may face higher obesity risks due to less access to preventive counseling and community health advocacy. While you cannot move, seeking out any available primary care contact for weight management advice is a critical step, as regular contact with a provider is linked to lower obesity rates.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Individuals living in counties with the most robust PCP supply were about 20% less likely to be obese (P < .01) than those living in counties with the lowest PCP supply.
Anne H. Gaglioti et al. · The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine · 2016

Why this rating

Large sample size (N=392,535) and multivariate adjustment, but it is an observational/ecologic study with potential for unmeasured confounding (endogeneity).

Source

Access to Primary Care in US Counties Is Associated with Lower Obesity Rates

Anne H. Gaglioti et al. · The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine · 2016

DOI 10.3122/jabfm.2016.02.150356

cross_sectional · n=392535Cited 22×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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