JOHN RABY
Associated Press
MORGANTOWN (AP) - West Virginia can avoid a
study's grim projection that six of every 10 adults will be obese by
2030 if statewide efforts to promote healthier lifestyles take hold, a
physician said Tuesday.
The report released by the nonprofit groups Trust for America's
Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that the number of
obese adults in the state, along with related disease rates and health
care costs, are on course to skyrocket over the next two decades.
Trust for America's Health officials said the predictions were based
on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures from 1999 through
2010, along with other national data and recent trends in obesity rates.
Last month, the CDC said 32.4 percent of West Virginia adults were obese.
Dr.
Ron Stollings said he's seen obesity through his medical practice and
in his dealings with the state-funded CARDIAC project, which screens
West Virginia children for heart disease, diabetes and other
cardiovascular issues.
Figures released by the West Virginia University-run project show
that of the 81,000 fifth graders who've been screened since 1998, 28
percent were considered obese, and an additional 19 percent were
overweight.
"The data is there that supports we have a problem," said Stollings, a
Boone County physician and chairman of the Senate Health and Human
Resources committee. However, "there is a lot of focus and effort being
made in West Virginia to otherwise keep this (trend) from happening."
Among them, the state recently received a $347,000 federal grant to
promote healthy school meals. Officials hope that encouraging students
to eat meals prepared at higher nutritional standards will improve their
academic performance.
In January, a statewide coalition unveiled a program pushing
residents to live more active lifestyles. The plan seeks to build
partnerships between schools, communities and park systems.
And
six mid-Ohio Valley counties are promoting starting and expanding local
farmers markets, pushing for fresh fruits and vegetables in convenience
stores and the creation of "healthy checkout aisles" in grocery stores.
"If there's no intervention, there's no doubt that our obesity rate
is going to climb and make this prophecy true," Stollings said. "But I
think with aggressive intervention, we can not only level it off, but
create a downward trend."
Dr. Marian Swinker, commissioner of the West Virginia Bureau for
Public Health, noted the advances in technology over the past three
decades, including "labor-saving" household devices such as TV remotes,
and the likelihood of more children being driven to school even if it's
within walking distance.
"Everything that's easier is a calorie not burned," she said.
The
report said obesity-related diseases could be prevented and health-care
costs reduced if West Virginia adults reduce their average body mass
index by 5 percent by 2030. For instance, a 6-foot tall person who
weighs 200 pounds would lose roughly 10 pounds.
The report projected that obesity could contribute to 282,164 new
cases of type 2 diabetes, 659,007 new cases of coronary heart disease
and stroke, 558,316 new cases of hypertension, 347,324 new cases of
arthritis, and 88,983 new cases of obesity-related cancer.
And obesity-related health care costs in West Virginia could climb by
more than 12 percent. But body-mass reductions could save the state 6.8
percent in those costs, the report said.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press
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