Counties top state obesity list
Herald Staff Report
According to a survey conducted this fall by the state health department, counties in northeastern North Carolina lead the state in percentage of residents who are either overweight or obese.
Northampton and Halifax counties joined Gates, Bertie, Hertford and Warren with the second-highest combined overweight and obesity rate of 72.6 percent. Nash, Wilson and Franklin counties had the highest rate of 74 percent.
The state average is 62.2 percent, and the county with the lowest rate of overweight and obese residents was Orange County with 52.6 percent.
“This means that even in a county with an obesity rate that is 11 percent lower than the state average, one out of every two residents is likely to be either overweight or obese and at increased risk for several obesity-related chronic conditions,” Cathy Thomas, head of the Physical Activity and Nutrition Branch of the N.C. Division of Public Health, said in a press statement.
“Regardless of where a county falls in the rankings, all the counties of North Carolina still face an uphill battle in reversing the rising rates of obesity in the state.”
The rankings were determined by using the responses to the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which asked residents about height and weight. Figures were then used to calculate each persons Body Mass Index.
Veggies, exercise lacking
The rankings also listed the counties and regions by residents who eat five or more vegetables a day and meet certain physical activity requirements.
Bertie, Gates, Halifax, Hertford and Warren counties had the lowest percentage of residents reporting they met the recommended physical activity requirements: Only 31 percent.
The survey and results and county rankings support Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina, a statewide movement that seeks to “reverse the rising tide of obesity and chronic disease among North Carolinians by helping them to eat smart, move more and achieve a healthy weight,” the release states.
Visit
www.eatsmartmovemorenc.com for more information or to view the county profiles.
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