Tagged: obesity

Many Michigan residents are carrying an unhealthy amount of weight and the problem is getting worse.

Michigan is the fifth-heaviest state in the nation, according to Michigan Department of Community Health Director James Haveman.

"In 1995, 18% of the adult population was obese in Michigan. By 2010, it had increased to 32 percent," Haveman says. "Currently in Michigan, some 800,000 children and five million adults have a weight problem. If unchanged, obesity could reach 50 percent by 2030."

It is estimated that nearly 50 percent of Michigan residents will be obese by 2030.

But don’t throw your salad out in reckless abandon just yet.

There is hope for your waistline, said Dr. Tom Peterson.

Director of Quality, Safety and Community Health at DeVos Children’s Hospital, Peterson helped organize ShapeMichigan.

According to Peterson, obesity is a relatively new problem.

Imagine eating the same foods that Native Americans in the Great Lakes region ate before European settlers arrived. That’s the idea behind a one-year study at Northern Michigan University.

According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America's Health, the states with the top five obesity rates are:

1. Mississippi - 34.9 percent
2. Louisiana - 33.4 percent
3. West Virginia - 32.4 percent
4. Alabama - 32.0 percent
5. Michigan - 31.3 percent

The rates reflect the percent of the population with a body mass index of 30 or higher. Body mass index is a calculation based on weight and height ratios. You can find your body mass index here.

The rates in the report were based on CDC data (part of the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey).

The top five "skinniest" states?

1. Colorado - 20.7 percent
2. Hawaii - 21.8 percent
3. Massachusetts 22.7 percent
4. New Jersey 23.7 percent
5. California - 23.8 percent

From the group's issue brief:

 “Obesity has contributed to a stunning rise in chronic disease rates and health care costs. It is one of the biggest health crises the country has ever faced,” said Jeffrey Levi, PhD, TFAH executive director. “The good news is that we have a growing body of evidence and approaches that we know can help reduce obesity, improve nutrition and increase physical activity based on making healthier choices easier for Americans. The bad news is we’re not investing anywhere near what we need to in order to bend the obesity curve and see the returns in terms of health and savings.”

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder gave a policy speech last fall about the state's struggle with obesity saying "too many Michiganders smoke, are overweight, and don’t exercise." In that speech he called Michigan's health care system "broken." He also set a personal weight reduction goal for himself in the speech - something he's still working on.

Last year the state ranked 10th in the nation in obesity. The Trust for America's Health notes year to year comparisons are difficult because of changes in the CDC's methodology.

The Michigan Department of Community Health has a new plan to reduce the number of obese people in Michigan.  The Department announced a new 5-year statewide  program called "4 x 4" on Monday at the Recreation Park in Ypsilanti.  

The program wants to encourage Michigan residents to eat a healthy diet, exercise, get check-ups, and avoid tobacco.  The program will involve local governments, businesses and trade associations across the state. 

Michigan ranks tenth in the country, when it comes to the number of people who are overweight or obese. It's an issue that affects many of us personally, and it affects society as a whole.

A new HBO, documentary series called  The Weight of the Nation takes an in-depth look at this epidemic. It's in partnership with the Center for Disease Control & Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

John Hoffman is an HBO producer who worked on the documentary. The documentary recently screened in Detroit. He says, "We’ve got to engage the entire nation in addressing obesity. Almost 70% of adults and a third of children are overweight or obese, and the costs are just going to bankrupt our health care system. Our national security is threatened when one quarter of recruits can’t qualify for our military service because they are overweight or obese…so, we are trying to sound the loudest possibly alarm in every community that this has got to become a priority."

Obesity seems to hit minorities and poor people especially hard. Hoffman says it's a matter of economics and not race. 

Governor Rick Snyder says it is critical to Michigan’s economy and its quality of life that the state reduce the number of people who are obese or overweight.

Almost a third of Michigan’s children and adults are considered obese. Two thirds are either obese or overweight.

The governor says obesity is a factor in diabetes and other chronic conditions that add $3 billion to the total costs of medical care in Michigan.