Sunday, March 19, 2006
Got fat? Mainers mobilize to battle the costly spread of obesity
By Elbert Aull, Portland Press Herald Writer
SANFORD — There's a movement afoot to get more residents in this York County town up and moving. A group linked to Goodall Hospital recently held an areawide summit on obesity, where officials released details of a three-year plan to curb unhealthy eating habits that drive up medical costs and reduce employee productivity.
Sanford is one of many communities in Maine looking for the ideal way to fight residents' growing waistlines.
Dozens of communities have programs similar to the one in Sanford, linked to area hospitals and funded with tobacco settlement money.
Public health officials have launched several campaigns aimed at lowering rates of obesity - especially among youngsters - in an effort to thin out a growing line of patients seeking medical treatment for preventable, weight-related diseases.
Sanford's plan calls for education campaigns and community events - from a "turn off the television" week to recognition for restaurants that offer healthful foods - and plenty of time at area schools and day care centers pitching the virtues of leafy greens over fatty foods.
"Unfortunately, we're competing with big businesses that can afford advertising dollars to really promote unhealthy life- styles," said Patricia Gulnac, project director for Sanford's Partners for Healthier Communities.
The organization scored a small victory recently when it helped convince the owner of a popular 1950s-style diner to install a self-serve salad bar for lunch patrons.
About 60 percent of Maine adults are overweight or obese, according to a statewide telephone survey of 5,000 residents conducted in 2004, said Dr. Dora Anne Mills, director of the state Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the same year, officials took height and weight measurements of children entering kindergarten in public schools and found about 36 percent of students were overweight or obese.
"Unfortunately, both (percentages) are on par with national statistics," Mills said.
The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the rate of overweight and obese adults increased from 47 percent to 65 percent between the late 1970s and the early part of the 21st century. Over the same period, the prevalence of overweight children more than doubled for those aged 6-11 and more than tripled for those aged 12-19.
During the 1990s, the percentage of adults nationwide with no known risk factors for heart disease - from high blood pressure to obesity - decreased by more than 10 percent.
In Maine, the number of diabetics has more than doubled since 1994, the biggest increase among those diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is attributed to not only heredity but poor dietary habits and lack of exercise. The phrase "adult-onset diabetes" is now obsolete, experts said, as patients are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at a younger age.
Efforts have begun on a number of fronts to combat obesity.
The state Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently completed a "physical activity and nutrition plan," which outlines statewide strategies for reducing obesity rates. Maine's public schools are wrapping up their first academic year of observing tightened restrictions on the sale of junk food and soda. And the state's largest insurer is bringing in a former U.S. surgeon general to speak at a conference on obesity.
Employers, too, are beginning to take notice, said Mark Ishkanian, spokesman for Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield.
Ishkanian said Anthem hosted a breakfast for business leaders earlier this year where speakers addressed the topic of diabetes. An average employer of 50 has two or three diabetic workers, he said.
"There was a lot of discussion just on the topic of diabetes. . . . If you have a certain number of diabetics, here's what you can expect in terms of health care costs and productivity," he said. "It was a real eye-opener."
Anthem is bringing in former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher and a national expert on weight and Type 2 diabetes for a statewide conference on obesity and its impact on the state's health care system. The conference will be held April 6 at the University of Southern Maine.
Ishkanian said approximately 25 percent of annual hospital admissions in Maine are related to heart disease, which traces some of its causes to poor dietary choices. The increased visits are driving up the cost of health care, he said.
"This is a silent crisis that is going to overwhelm the health care system," Ishkanian said.
Kevin Shirley, who owns Kevin's Doo Wop Diner, the Sanford restaurant installing a salad bar, said he's convinced that Americans, who are hearing more and more about their weight, will eventually embrace more healthful eating habits.
Shirley said he just isn't sure when.
"If you think about the cigarette-smoking issue . . . eventually (negative attitudes about smoking) became mainstream," he said. "It may take longer with the eating issue - a lot of people eat for enjoyment."
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