Obesity Discussion Forums

[Obesity Discussion]

Article published Sep 19, 2006
Kids, obesity and health a local focus
Wayne County Vision raising awareness of issue

One-fifth of children are likely to be obese by 2010, according to the Institute of Medicine. According to the 2005 Indiana Youth Risk Behavior Survey, in 2005, 15 percent of students in Grades 9 through 12 were overweight and an additional 14 percent were at risk of becoming overweight. Knowing our challenges we are facing with health concerns, which group is stepping up to the leadership plate to help address these issues?

Did you know that Wayne County Vision board has a subcommittee devoted to wellness? Early this spring, a committee of local agency representatives began meeting on a monthly basis to begin discussion of wellness in the local area. The focus has been on:


employee health,

pediatric obesity and

overall wellness needs of Wayne County and the surrounding areas.
September 17-23 is filled with many local agencies doing things in their associations to promote health. Anyone participating in one of these programs or making improved health choices during this celebration, is asked to call (765) 983-7979 and leave a voicemail so the committee can tabulate the areas response to health improvement.

One of those organizations promoting health this week, is Richmond Community Schools (RCS). RCS has planned "A Walk to California." Employees at RCS and each of the building Physical Education Classes were provided pedometers to measure their steps for the week. RCS's challenge to their organization is to walk enough steps to get to California. A map from Richmond to California will be used to help the organization track their progress. Their website will also track the progress through out the week.

Although the big goal is to walk enough steps equal to the distance to California, the RCS ultimate goal is to get everyone moving for their health. Benefits Coordinator, Barb Pennington, and Kristi Knapp have played an integral part in making this event happen for RCS. Barb and Kristi Knapp are currently representing RCS at the monthly Vision Wellness board meetings.

Additional partners that will be holding special programs during this designated week include: Birth to Five, Minority Health Coalition, Wayne County Health Department, Reid Hospital, Head Start, Earlham College, Cope Center and Cardinal Greenway. Additional partners that are apart of the council include YMCA, Purdue Extension Services, Townsend Center, Richmond Park & Recreation, WIC and Indiana University East.

We encourage everyone living in Wayne County to take a different approach this week and just decided on a physical activity that will get you "moving." It could walking, biking, running, or even jump roping with your kids.

Obesity in Wayne County

[Obesity Discussion]

Obesity health effects discussed at state meeting
By Michael Schroeder
The Journal Gazette
HUNTINGTON

On a day when most children were gorging on Halloween candy, a handful of health officials and wellness advocates talked about growing waistlines during a regional obesity summit at Parkview Huntington Hospital.

We have not been able to crack this issue, said Judith Monroe, the state's health commissioner. She and others attributed the rising obesity rates in Indiana and nationwide to a complex network of factors from social to psychological to behavioral. Dealing with the problem is proving equally complex.

We don't have a silver bullet, Monroe said.

Currently, Indiana ranks 10th in the nation for adult obesity; 15 percent of high school students are overweight. And it's gotten only worse in the past two decades. Where fewer than 14 percent of Hoosiers were considered obese in 1985, more than 27 percent are obese today.

The two-hour summit Tuesday afternoon also featured presentations about ongoing health and wellness programs at DeKalb Memorial Hospital and in Wells County. Including state officials, about a dozen people attended the summit, which was geared toward enhancing collaboration among community programs that deal with obesity. Dr. Deborah McMahan, Allen County health commissioner was also in attendance.

One potential driver for change that is increasingly entering the health conversation is economics. DeKalb Hospital offered employees a discount on premiums based on risk factors such as whether they smoked or had high blood pressure.

Although the move was contentious, it has made a big difference, said Andrea Bales, the hospital's wellness program manager. She said the hospital has taken steps to ensure the program is implemented fairly, including following applicable privacy laws.

Beyond the pocketbook, peer influence namely in workplaces and schools is at the forefront of factors affecting health habits, meeting attendees and participants said. Employees and students are heavily influenced by corporate cultural cues from what's served for lunch to whether co-workers are working out, Bales and others said.

Creativity is also important. In Wells County, Operation Wellness a countywide health and wellness program offered activities including Tai Chi, ballroom dancing and weight-loss competitions.

Obesity in Indiana

[Obesity Discussion]

Youth grants available to fight obesity

Submitted Article


Tuesday January 30, 2007

Youth as Resources, a program of United Way of Central Indiana, has grants available for youth with FitCity-inspired service projects. A total of $20,000 is available for youth in Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Marion and Morgan counties.
FitCity educates residents in central Indiana about obesity and its problems and encourages people to move more and eat less. It is a collaboration between The Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis, United Way of Central Indiana, Connect2Help and more than 100 program partners from across Central Indiana.
"Young people have to be part of the solution to childhood obesity, because their lives are at stake," said Paula Shepley, director of Youth as Resources. "Youth as Resources' FitCity Youth Campaign is rallying youth to the cause. They are helping their peers and younger children take health and fitness seriously."
Nonprofits such as churches, schools or community agencies that sponsor youth projects may apply for funds to cover project expenses. Groups of youth are encouraged to apply for grants for projects that educate and support their peers in stopping trends of excessive weight gain, as well as losing excess weight, adopting healthy eating habits and lifestyles, and becoming as fit as they can be.
All youth groups interested in applying for a grant must attend the workshop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 24 at United Way of Central Indiana, 3901 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis.
For more information, please contact Morgan County coordinator Diana Roy, (765) 349-9780 or Diana.roy@uwci.org.

Obesity in Indiana

[Obesity Discussion]

States Push Online Fitness Programs

Mar 19, 5:11 AM (ET)

By RICK CALLAHAN

(AP) Arleen East goes for a walk on her lunch hour in Indianapolis, Tuesday, March 13, 2007. East...


INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Arleen East started the year in a rut - overweight, sedentary and plagued by bouts of depression only deepened by her unflattering extra bulk. Since those dark days of winter, the 47-year-old single mother has dropped 16 pounds from her 5-foot-7 frame. She's down to 192 and is pressing ahead with her goal to slim down to 145.
East credits her turnaround not just to sheer will, but to help from Indiana's "10 in 10 Challenge," an online program that commits participants to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks and prods them with weekly e-mails filled with exercise and diet tips.
With obesity worsening across the nation, a growing number of states like Indiana are launching online initiatives to combat residents' expanding waistlines. Proponents say online programs reach a vast audience, are relatively cheap and a quick way to let people know about upcoming fitness events and local resources.
Before she signed up with "10 in 10," East said she would come home from her job as an information technology specialist for the state and plunk down before the TV with her two dogs, eating junk food "out of boredom."
Her 19-year-old daughter Alisha, a college student, wasn't around much, and East had all but stopped going out with friends.
But these days, she sticks to healthy fare like grilled chicken and vegetables, takes walks around downtown Indianapolis on her lunch hour and sweats away the pounds after work in aerobics classes at the YMCA near her Martinsville, Ind., home.
"I've been on the yo-yo diet thing for a few years and I really just got fed up with all the gimmicks. So I'm just trying to do it on my own now," said East, who heard about the "10 in 10" program about the time she decided to make a change.
She said it's helped her stay motivated with its tips, including the idea to schedule her aerobics class right after she gets home from work so she has no time to hit the couch.
The "10 in 10" program debuted in January with TV commercials showing Gov. Mitch Daniels jogging, pumping iron and bounding up stairs at the Indiana Statehouse as he exhorted Hoosiers to "log on and lighten up." Since then, nearly 37,000 Indiana residents have signed up.
That's the best response yet to "INShape Indiana" the state's multipronged effort to get people to eat healthy, get active and avoid tobacco, said Eric Neuburger, executive director of the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Halfway through the 10-week program, 3,211 participants reported in an online survey a combined weight loss of 12,251 pounds - or an average of 3.8 pounds each.
Some version of "10 in 10" will likely return this summer, depending on funding and other fitness ideas under consideration.
Action to curtail obesity is badly needed for Indiana, which consistently ranks among the top 10 most obese states, and is second, behind Kentucky, in the percentage of adults who smoke, Neuburger said.
"We are paying for these health issues, whether directly or indirectly, and it has huge impact on the pocketbooks of normal Hoosiers," he said.
Indiana is far from alone - it's one of 17 states where at least 25 percent of the population is obese, according to 2005 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a report released in August by the Trust for America's Health, the public health advocacy group said research suggests the nation would save $5.6 billion a year in costs associated with treating heart disease if just one-tenth of Americans began walking regularly.
Walking is one of the ideas behind Lighten Up Iowa, a Web-based four-month program that's driven by teams who either track their minutes of activity, their weight-loss, or both.
Now in its sixth year, the Iowa program has doubled the number of participants to a total of 24,000. They reported losing more than 46,000 pounds and logging more than 12 million minutes of physical activity in January alone.
Lighten Up Iowa has been so successful that 17 other states have modeled their own programs after it, capitalizing on the Internet's vast reach and ability to connect people, helping them stay motivated, said the program's coordinator, Deborah Martinez. Its sponsor, the nonprofit Iowa Sports Foundation, recently launched a national version, Lighten Up America.
Although there's no scientific data on the success rate of such programs, people who faithfully take part in them are certain to burn away fat and get in better shape, said Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University's Center for Eating and Weight Disorders.
"From an intuitive point of view, any program that gives people the opportunity to weave any form of physical activity into their day-to-day life is beneficial," he said.
The states' efforts primarily target people who are already motivated, said Robin Hamre, team leader of a national nutrition and obesity prevention program at the CDC.
The federal health agency is trying to combat obesity more broadly with programs in 28 states that encourage fitness through efforts that include building sidewalks and walking trails, she said.
Hamre hopes Congress will fund the program for all 50 states. With obesity striking Americans of all backgrounds, and surging in children, she said action is needed now. "We're seeing the same thing in all age groups and all races. This is an equal opportunity epidemic," she said.

Obesity in Indiana

[Obesity Discussion]

Confronting Indiana drug use, perceptions of obesity
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2007
EDITORS: the Indiana Public Health Association will hold its annual conference at the Indiana Memorial Union at Indiana University, Bloominton May 8-9. The event will feature research presentations from various public and private institutions on topics ranging from the use of technology in monitoring infectious disease to why sex ed teachers are neglecting state-mandated subjects. Also, a keynote address will be given by the president of the American Public Health Association, Debbie Klein Walker. Two presentations by Indiana University researchers are described below. For a full program agenda, go to http://www.inpha.org/confevents.asp.
Confronting drug use in Indiana. A comprehensive study of drug use and its consequences in Indiana, completed last year, revealed state rates above the national average for DUI arrests, public intoxication, marijuana-related arrests and high school methamphetamine use. Lead researcher Eric Wright, director of the Center for Health Policy at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, will discuss these and other findings and how they are being addressed across the state. In particular, the study identified counties with the highest rates of abuse for alcohol, cocaine and methamphetamine. This information is now being utilized by the Governor's Commission for a Drug Free Indiana and the Meth-Free Indiana Coalition to direct funding to the areas of greatest need.
Wright will present his findings on May 9 at 3 p.m. in the IMU Oak Room. The full report is available online at http://www.urbancenter.iupui.edu/PubResources/pdf/208_State_Epidemiological_Profile.pdf.
I'm not overweight. An Indiana University study found that the perception of "overweight" differs greatly by gender, race, ethnicity and education level. "Many overweight individuals do not perceive themselves to be overweight. Consequently, they will not be receptive to weight control programs, such as INShape Indiana," said Terrell W. Zollinger, professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine. "First, they need to accept the fact that they're overweight and need to change their diets and physical activity levels to improve their health and reduce their risk for diseases." The study drew from survey responses of 4,785 English and Spanish-speaking adults residing in Marion County, Ind. Zollinger said effective strategies to combat obesity will recognize these differences and tailor the messages accordingly.
Below are some of the findings:

• Among overweight or obese males, more than two-thirds of the Hispanic males perceived themselves as normal weight (70.4 percent), followed by black males at 64.8 percent and white males at 50.5 percent.
• Women who were overweight were more likely to acknowledge their weight status compared to men. Among overweight or obese females, nearly one-third of black females perceived themselves as normal weight (31.9 percent), followed by white females at 15.2 percent and Hispanic females at 7.7 percent.
• Also of concern was the finding that 19 percent of the white women who were normal weight thought that they were overweight.

Finding from this study will be presented on May 9 at 10 a.m. in the IMU Walnut room. Zollinger can be reached at 317-278-0300 or tzolling@iupui.edu.
For more information, contact Elisabeth Andrews, 812-855-2153 or ecandrew@indiana.edu.

Indiana Obesity

[Obesity Discussion]

This October 2007 the Indiana State Department of Health will release a plan to address the obesity problem during the INShape summit.

CDC obesity prevention guidelines were used to formulate th eplan, according to Weilin Long, director of the community nutrition/obesity prevention division of the department.

Indiana University in Bloomington, along with Monroe County, created an “active living coalition,” made up of various local agencies.

Some great Indiana resources include:

lightenupIndiana.com — Information about obesity and tips and resources for calculating your BMI and preparing an exercise plan, sponsored by the Care Group LLC.

INShape Indiana — The Indiana state government Web site dedicated to making Hoosiers healthier.