Adult obesity rates increased in 37 states in the past year,according to the fifth annual F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America, 2008 report from the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Rates rose for a second consecutive year in 24 states and for a third consecutive year in 19 states. No state saw a decrease. Though many promising policies have emerged to promote physical activity and good nutrition in communities, the report concludes that they are not being adopted or implemented at levels needed to turn around this health crisis.
The study found that:
• More than 25 percent of adults are obese in 28 states, an increase from 19 states last year. More than 20 percent of adults are obese in every state except Colorado. In 1991, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent. In 1980, the national average of obese adults was 15 percent. Now, an estimated two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, and an estimated 23 million children are either overweight or obese.
• Rates of type 2 diabetes, a disease typically associated with obesity, grew in 26 states last year. Four states now have diabetes rates above 10 percent, and all 10 states with the highest rates of diabetes and hypertension are in the South.
• There was a relationship between poverty and obesity levels. Seven of the 10 states with the highest obesity rates are also in the top 10 for highest poverty rates.
• While all 50 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws related to physical education and/or physical activity in schools, only 13 states include enforceability language. Of these states, only four have sanctions or penalties if the laws are not implemented.
• Ten states do not include specific coverage for nutrition assessment and counseling for obese or overweight children in their Medicaid programs (Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) benefits).
• Only Georgia and Vermont have specific guidelines for treating obese adults in their Medicaid programs. In Nebraska and South Carolina, the Medicaid programs specifically state that obesity is not an illness and is therefore not covered.
"Despite widespread acknowledgement that obesity is endangering the health of millions of Americans, the country is still failing to respond clearly or comprehensively," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., RWJF president and C.E.O. "We must work together, governments, schools and communities, to improve nutrition and increase physical activity for all ages. We must ensure that strong policies are implemented and enforced in every state, not only to help reverse existing obesity rates, but to prevent obesity among our nation's children — and generations to come."
Source: Trust for America's Health, August 19, 2008
