Research Symposium
26th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 1, 2026
Elizabeth Darwood Poster Session 1: 9:30 am - 10:30 am / Poster #127
BIO
Elizabeth Darwood is a fourth year student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Public Health and minoring in general business. Darwood's research experience includes her Honors in the Major thesis on "Obesity and Cost of Living by County in Florida". This thesis looked to explore the relationship between cost of living and obesity. Faculty mentors that advised Darwood during this experience were Dr. Ladanya Ramirez- Surmeier (Committee Chair), Dr. Annette Schwab (Committee Member), and Dr. Teresa Roach (Committee Chair).
Honors in the Major Undergraduate Thesis: Obesity and the Cost of Living by Florida County
Authors: Elizabeth Darwood, Dr. Ladanya Ramirez-SurmeierStudent Major: Public Health
Mentor: Dr. Ladanya Ramirez-Surmeier
Mentor's Department: Public Health Mentor's College: College of Social Sciences and Public Policy Co-Presenters:
Abstract
This poster session will showcase what an undergraduate student learned during their year-long Research Project. Research skills the student learned were how to conduct a literature review, data management, data analysis, and how to use SPSS to conduct a T-Test. Quantitative methods were used for this study. This student is conducting this research as part of the Honors in the Major Program. Where the student picks a topic relating to their major and performs a research project.
This project’s goal was to determine if there is a relationship between obesity and the cost of living when it comes to food, healthcare, housing, and transportation by Florida county. Obesity is becoming more prevalent and can affect people’s health by making them more susceptible to chronic diseases such as heart disease, joint disease, and type 2 diabetes (Mozaffarian, 2022). In 2022 the obesity prevalence rate was 33.6% (Center for Disease Control, 2022). In Florida that same year the obesity rate was 31.4 (Florida Health Charts, 2022). During the same time of the obesity epidemic there is a cost-of-living crisis, causing many Americans to reallocate their funds to other necessities (Albouy et al, 2016) and increasing their consumption of ultra-processed foods which are usually more affordable than healthier food options (Rao et al., 2013). Temple et al., 2022 showed that ultra-processed foods, like cheaper and unhealthy fast food, are one of the causes of obesity.
Keywords: Obesity, Cost of Living, Public Health