Report: Obesity Rates Up in Most States
August 23, 2005
WASHINGTON (AP) — Obesity rates rose
last year in every state but Oregon, according to an advocacy group
that called on the government and the private sector to get more
involved in Americans’ battle with expanding waistlines.
The advocacy group, Trust for
America’s Health, said data from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention showed that the percentage of obese adults for 2002-04 stood
at 22.7 percent nationally. The percentage for the previous cycle,
2001-03, was 22 percent.
The state exhibiting the largest
increase in obesity was Alabama. There, the rate increased 1.5
percentage points to 27.7 percent. Oregon’s rate held steady at 21
percent.
The report said the states with the
highest percentage of obese adults are Mississippi, Alabama, West
Virginia, Louisiana and Tennessee.
The states with the lowest percentage
of obese adults are Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut,
Vermont and Montana. Hawaii was not included in the report.
An official with the Trust for
America’s Health said the United States is stuck in a "debate limbo"
about how the government should confront obesity. She used the report
to call for more government action on several fronts, such as ensuring
that land use plans promote physical activity; that school lunch
programs serve healthier meals; and that Medicaid recipients get access
to subsidized fitness programs, such as aerobics classes at the local
YMCA.
"We have a crisis of poor nutrition
and physical inactivity in the U.S., and it’s time we dealt with it,"
said Shelley A. Hearne, executive director of the organization.
Radley Balko, a policy analyst at the
Cato Institute, said he is wary of the call for more government action
on obesity. The institute is a think tank that prefers free-market
approaches to problems.
"I think obesity is a very personal
issue. What you eat and how often you exercise, if that comes within
the government’s purview, it’s difficult to think of what’s left that
isn’t," Balko said.
Health policy analysts maintain that
obesity increases the burden on taxpayers because it requires the
Medicare and Medicaid programs to cover the treatment of diseases
caused by obesity. The report issued Tuesday said taxpayers spent $39
billion in 2003 for the treatment of conditions attributable to
obesity.
The Trust for America’s Health
recommended mandatory screening for obesity among Medicaid recipients,
as well as nutritional counseling.
"Better prevention and disease management programs will result in cost savings to the system as a whole," the report stated.
Balko said it’s not clear the
government really knows how to persuade people to make better
decisions. He said open-ended entitlement programs, such as Medicaid
and Medicare, don’t provide much of a financial incentive for people to
watch their weight. The government just picks up the cost of treating
diseases for those patients, regardless of the amounts, he said.
He prefers that the government give
Medicaid and Medicare recipients an incentive to open medical savings
accounts, which would allow them to save money when they did not access
the health care system.
"If they knew they only had so much to
spend, or what they did not spend could be saved, then maybe you could
instill a certain sense of responsibility and ownership," Balko said.
Adults with a body mass index of 30 or
more are considered obese. The equation used to figure body mass index
is body weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. The
measurement is not a good indicator of obesity for muscular people who
exercise a lot.
———————————————————————————-
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
August 23, 2005
WASHINGTON (AP) — Obesity rates rose
last year in every state but Oregon, according to an advocacy group
that called on the government and the private sector to get more
involved in Americans’ battle with expanding waistlines.
The advocacy group, Trust for
America’s Health, said data from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention showed that the percentage of obese adults for 2002-04 stood
at 22.7 percent nationally. The percentage for the previous cycle,
2001-03, was 22 percent.
The state exhibiting the largest
increase in obesity was Alabama. There, the rate increased 1.5
percentage points to 27.7 percent. Oregon’s rate held steady at 21
percent.
The report said the states with the
highest percentage of obese adults are Mississippi, Alabama, West
Virginia, Louisiana and Tennessee.
The states with the lowest percentage
of obese adults are Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut,
Vermont and Montana. Hawaii was not included in the report.
An official with the Trust for
America’s Health said the United States is stuck in a "debate limbo"
about how the government should confront obesity. She used the report
to call for more government action on several fronts, such as ensuring
that land use plans promote physical activity; that school lunch
programs serve healthier meals; and that Medicaid recipients get access
to subsidized fitness programs, such as aerobics classes at the local
YMCA.
"We have a crisis of poor nutrition
and physical inactivity in the U.S., and it’s time we dealt with it,"
said Shelley A. Hearne, executive director of the organization.
Radley Balko, a policy analyst at the
Cato Institute, said he is wary of the call for more government action
on obesity. The institute is a think tank that prefers free-market
approaches to problems.
"I think obesity is a very personal
issue. What you eat and how often you exercise, if that comes within
the government’s purview, it’s difficult to think of what’s left that
isn’t," Balko said.
Health policy analysts maintain that
obesity increases the burden on taxpayers because it requires the
Medicare and Medicaid programs to cover the treatment of diseases
caused by obesity. The report issued Tuesday said taxpayers spent $39
billion in 2003 for the treatment of conditions attributable to
obesity.
The Trust for America’s Health
recommended mandatory screening for obesity among Medicaid recipients,
as well as nutritional counseling.
"Better prevention and disease management programs will result in cost savings to the system as a whole," the report stated.
Balko said it’s not clear the
government really knows how to persuade people to make better
decisions. He said open-ended entitlement programs, such as Medicaid
and Medicare, don’t provide much of a financial incentive for people to
watch their weight. The government just picks up the cost of treating
diseases for those patients, regardless of the amounts, he said.
He prefers that the government give
Medicaid and Medicare recipients an incentive to open medical savings
accounts, which would allow them to save money when they did not access
the health care system.
"If they knew they only had so much to
spend, or what they did not spend could be saved, then maybe you could
instill a certain sense of responsibility and ownership," Balko said.
Adults with a body mass index of 30 or
more are considered obese. The equation used to figure body mass index
is body weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. The
measurement is not a good indicator of obesity for muscular people who
exercise a lot.
———————————————————————————-
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
