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Report: Kansas 18th-fattest state
Published 7/3/2009 in Local News
By KAREN SHIDELER
The Wichita Eagle
(MCT) — More than a quarter of Kansans are obese — not just 10 or 15 pounds overweight, but obese — according to a report released Wednesday by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The report also said that nearly a third of Kansans between the ages of 10 and 17 are overweight.
Such numbers have huge implications because about a quarter of all health care spending is obesity-related, said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health.
Obesity means having a body mass index of more than 30; overweight is a BMI of 25 or more. BMI is a calculation of weight and height. A man or woman who is 5-foot-7 would be overweight at 159 pounds and obese at 191.
The number of Kansans who are obese makes the state the 18th-fattest overall, up from 27th two years ago, the report said. The state ranks 22nd for overweight youth.
This is the sixth annual "F Is for Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America" report. For the fifth year, Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity, at 32.5 percent. West Virginia, Alabama and Tennessee also had obesity rates above 30 percent.
Kansas' rate is 27.2 percent, according to the report. Mike Heideman of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the state's data showed that the number of obese adult Kansans has doubled since 1992.
Only one state — Colorado — had a rate of less than 20 percent. In 1991, no state had a rate above 20 percent.
"Obesity is one of the biggest health problems facing the United States today," Levi said Wednesday.
That's because so many health issues — from heart disease to knee replacements — can be related to weight. And years of higher health costs aren't offset by reduced longevity, he said.
Physician James Marks, senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Levi said addressing excess weight in childhood is important, because overweight children tend to become obese adults.
Marks said public policies such as menu labeling, required physical education and nutritional standards are among the actions that can help address weight issues.
But the economic downturn could threaten any signs of progress, he said, because "the cheapest foods are often the least healthy."
Individual action isn't enough, Marks and Levi said, and neither is universal health insurance, because someone with access to diabetes care but not to a safe place to exercise and to affordable, nutritious food still will have high health care costs.
They recommended that health reform efforts include policies that will change community norms, in much the same way that anti-tobacco efforts have.
Some of those efforts are beginning:
The report says 19 states have school meal standards that are stricter than the USDA's, and 27 states have nutritional standards for foods sold in school vending machines or at fundraisers. Kansas has neither.
Twenty states have some sort of requirement for assessing students' weights. Kansas doesn't.
KDHE's Heideman said that "the report underscores the need for continued vigilance" in addressing obesity-related issues.
The department works with the Kansas Department of Education to encourage school districts to develop wellness policies, he said.
In Wichita, schools have moved away from fried foods and toward whole grains, said Melany Barnes of USD 259. The district also tries to encourage the use of non-food rewards in the classroom.
Moving to healthier habits "will probably take the same 20 years that smoking did and that seat belts did," she said.
On the Web:
F as in Fat 2009 report: http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2009/
What should the country, the state and individuals do to reduce overweight and obesity? Talk about it at SWKTalk.com.
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