Contributed by William Angelos| 23 August, 2005 12:34 GMT
Page 1 of 2
'Obesity is a gateway to heart disease, diabetes and a host of other diseases. There is much more that can be done to help people make healthy choices about nutrition and exercise.'
The picture looks bleak for a country bowing under the weight of a super-sized health burden. Obesity rates rose again last year in 49 states, and government policies and actions so far have offered little hope of reversing the trend, says a new report from
Trust for America's Health (TFAH).
Approximately 119 million Americans -- 64.5 percent of adults -- are either overweight or obese, the report notes, with estimates of the number of obese American adults rising from 23.7 percent in 2003 to 24.5 percent in 2004. Sixteen percent of US military personnel on active duty are obese; it is currently the number one reason for the discharge of soldiers.
Policy Paralysis
The
Department of Health and Human Services set a national goal of reducing obesity in adults to 15 percent or less of the population by the year 2010, but it appears highly unlikely that target will be met.
"We have reached a state of policy paralysis in regards to obesity," said Shelley A. Hearne, DrPH, executive director of TFAH.
"We need more and better data so we can make decisions to get out of the debate limbo in which we are stuck. We have a crisis of poor nutrition and physical inactivity in the US, and it's time we dealt with it," she urged.
"Obesity is a gateway to heart disease, diabetes and a host of other diseases," said Parris N. Glendening, former two-term Governor of Maryland, president of the Smart Growth Leadership Institute, and co-author of the report.
"There is much more that can be done to help people make healthy choices about nutrition and exercise," Glendening added. "For instance, decisions about where we build new houses and highways or schools and sidewalks can mean the difference between giving people more or less opportunity to participate in physical activity."
Mississippi ranked as the heaviest state, Colorado as the least heavy, and rates stayed the same in Oregon. Over 25 percent of adults in 10 states -- seven of them located in the southeast -- are obese. The 10 worst-off states are Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, and South Carolina.
Minimal Nutrition, Little Physical Education in Schools
Some other key findings from the study include the following:
Federal obesity programs are too limited to have a significant impact. The lack of sufficient research to inform policies and programs severely constrains activities.
Obesity is exacerbated by poor community design -- such as the lack of sidewalks and suburban sprawl -- as well as the lack of access to affordable healthy food options in many areas (the "urban grocery store gap").
constrains activities.
Food stamp recipients are more likely to be obese compared to both eligible non-participants and higher-income individuals.
Most school meal programs still deliver minimal nutrition to students, and physical education programs are given low priority.
Only six states have stricter nutrition requirements for school lunches, breakfasts and snacks than the US Department of Agriculture requires. Three states have established new standards since last year.
Eleven states have set nutritional standards for foods sold in schools that are not part of the federally sponsored school lunch program, called "competitive foods," which include items sold in vending machines, a la carte in cafeterias, snack shops and bake sales. Nineteen states limit the availability of "competitive foods" beyond federal requirements, such as restrictions on when they can be sold.
Over one-third of states made some attempt to improve school physical-education programs in the last year. However, requirements still fall short and often are not enforced. South Dakota has no physical-education requirement for students.
Most US governors have taken steps to initiate innovative obesity-reduction and control programs for state employees. However, most statewide initiatives aimed at the general public are limited to public-information campaigns.
Forty percent of states have enacted legislation to limit obesity-related law suits.
Trends suggest possible future changes to employer healthcare plans, such as "fit versus fat" premium differences for individuals based on lifestyle and risk for disease due to obesity.
See Page 2: Call for Common-Sense Policies, State Rankings
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