Obesity Rates Continue to Increase
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health issued a new report, “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing In America, 2008″. This effort details the continued growth of the obesity epidemic across the country.
According to the report, obesity rates have again risen for the second year in a row in 24 states. In addition, rates have risen for the third consecutive year in an additional 19 states. Perhaps most concerning is the fact that no states posted a decrease in obesity rates.
In every state except Colorado, at least one-fifth of residents are obese. The overall rates reported indicate that one-quarter of Americans are obese across 28 states. In 1980, over 25 years ago, the national obesity rate was 15 percent. In 1991, no states had obesity rates over twenty percent.
The report notes that an array of programs to increase physical activity have been developed. Other programs in the works promote better nutrition across entire communities. However, these are not being adopted at a sufficient rate nor have they been as effective as hoped.
Recommendations from the report include collaborative efforts to combat obesity, suggesting participation from an array of stakeholders including schools, state or local governments, communities, and businesses. A national plan to halt and reverse the epidemic is called for, the National Strategy to Combat Obesity.
Two primary areas for policies include increasing the amount of physical activity and the availability of healthful foods. Broader recommendations include requiring insurers to implement prevention programming to include nutritional counseling. Another programmatic suggestion is to broaden the green space in communities available for physical activity.
August 20, 2008 Related topics: Bariatrics & Obesity, Trends