Physical Inactivity and Obesity in the United States Through the Lens of the 2012 and 2016 Presidential Elections

The physical inactivity (PI) and obesity pandemics in the United States (U.S.) have undauntingly persisted in recent history. We have previously demonstrated differences in PI, obesity, socioeconomics, race, and regional culture according to county-level results for the 2020 presidential election. This commentary extends this analysis by considering if the 2020 trend is consistent with the 2 previous presidential election cycles. On a national level, during both the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections, counties where the Democratic candidate received more votes than the Republican one had a significantly lower PI and obesity prevalence. Counties where the Democratic candidate received more votes also had higher median national incomes, a higher proportion of the population who identify as Black, and a higher percentage of people who had completed at least some college. However, at a U.S. regional level, unique, region-specific cultural identities and partisan coalition demographics were apparent and showed some variation between election cycles. In most of the distinct U.S. cultural regions defined by the American Nations model, PI and obesity prevalence were lower in democratic-majority counties, although there were exceptions. These results sup-port our previous findings demonstrating PI and obesity trends in the U.S. are influenced by cultural and political factors that are likely interrelated and which warrant further attention.

Automated summary

This commentary examines the relationship between physical inactivity, obesity, and election results, socioeconomic factors, race, and regional culture in the United States. The study found that counties where the Democratic candidate received more votes had lower levels of physical inactivity and obesity, higher median national incomes, a higher proportion of Black population, and a higher percentage of people with higher education. However, there were variations in this relationship across different cultural regions in the United States.