Georgia losing battle of the bulge

It seems Georgians are not making much progress in the battle of the bulge.

The state’s adults tipped the scales as 14th heaviest in the nation, according to a new report on obesity by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

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The report, “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America”, found that 27.9 percent of Georgia adults are obese. The state tied with Texas.

Georgia’s rate was basically unchanged from last year (27.5 percent), but up from the 2007 rate of 26.1 percent.

Overall, adult obesity rates increased in 23 states and didn’t decline anywhere.

“This reinforces that we have a continuing problem that really requires much more concerted action at the federal and state level,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of TFAH. “It’s particularly important in the context of the national debate on health care reform.”

Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity at 32.5 percent, the fifth year in a row that the state has topped the list. Colorado had the lowest obesity rate - 18.9 percent.

Eight of the 10 states with the highest percentage of obese adults are in the South, an area commonly referred to as the “stroke belt.”

In recent years, as Americans have gotten bigger, obesity has become a public health issue leading to loss of productivity and higher health care spending. It’s especially troubling as the Baby Boomer generation heads toward Medicare and Medicaid rolls.

Levi said 70 percent of health care costs are associated with chronic disease, much of which can be traced to obesity.

And young people aren’t doing any better. Georgia had the third highest rate of overweight youth, ages 10 through 17, at 37.3 percent. The report criticized those states, including Georgia, that didn’t have strict nutrition standards for school meals and vending machines.

“That’s not a good thing,” said Dr. Jennifer Shu, an Atlanta pediatrician and co-author of “Food Fights”, a book that addresses parents’ nutritional questions and challenges. “Overweight kids turn into overweight adults.”

In her practice, Shu said she is seeing more youngsters with high blood pressure and diabetes, diseases that used to be seen mostly in adults.

“It’s a combination of diet and less activity,” she said. “Some people are in such a rush they don’t have time to cook a healthy meal. It’s a lot easier to grab a bag of chips than it is to cut up some fruit.”

She said it’s important to reach children early to break unhealthy habits before they develop into long-term problems.

Other findings include:

The current economic downtown is making the obesity epidemic worse. Food prices, especially for more nutritious foods, are rising, making it more difficult for families to eat healthy.

Twenty states have passed requirement for body mass index screenings of youth or have passed legislation requiring other forms of weight-related assessments in schools. Georgia, the report says, is not among those states.

The report makes several recommendations, including more focus and funding for state- and community-based initiatives such as nutrition and obesity counseling and screening for obesity-related diseases. It also promotes collaboration among businesses, communities, schools and families.