Obesity Discussion Forums

[Obesity Discussion]

The Epidemic
60% of Missouri adults are overweight or obese. (CDC BRFSS, 2002)
24% of non-Hispanic white adults, 35% of non-Hispanic black adults, and 31% of Hispanic adults in Missouri are obese. (CDC BRFSS, 2002)28% of low-income children between 2 and 5 years of age in Missouri are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. (CDC PedNSS, 2002)
32% of students in grades 6-8 in Missouri are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. (CDC YTS, 2003)
27% of students in high school in Missouri are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. (CDC YRBS, 2003)
The obesity rate among Missouri adults increased by 95% from 1990 to 2002. (CDC BRFSS, 1990, 2002)

Program Priorities
A statewide Council on the Prevention and Management of Overweight and Obesity has been formed to guide development of the state plan. The phases of the participatory strategic planning process being followed are

Determining the practical vision or picture of the desired future.
Describing the underlying contradictions that prevent the vision from being realized.
Proposing strategic directions to overcome the contradictions and to move toward the vision.
Implementing the actions required to move toward the vision.
A final plan will be complete by fall 2004.
An online newsletter, Obesity Observer*, makes summaries of articles and information available in one place, and an online Obesity Resource Data Bank* does the same for Missouri statistics and national data on obesity. The data bank addresses five separate interest groups: researchers, policymakers, health care professionals and facilities, educators and schools, and the general public.



Partners
American Academy of Pediatrics Missouri
American Heart Association
Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Missouri
Delia Young and Associates
Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Health
Lincoln University
Missouri Academy of Family Physicians
Missouri Association of Health Plans
Missouri Broadcasters' Association
Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan
Missouri Dental Association
Missouri Department of Agriculture
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Missouri Department of Higher Education
Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
Missouri Department of Mental Health
Missouri Department of Public Safety
Missouri Department of Social Services
Missouri Dietetic Association
Missouri Foundation for Health
Missouri Hospital Association
Missouri Nurses Association
Missouri Parent Teacher Association
Missouri Primary Care Association
Missouri Restaurant Association
Missouri Retailers Association
Missouri School Boards Association
Missouri School Food Service Association
Missouri State Medical Association
Partnerships for Latino Community
University of Missouri Columbia School of Nursing
St. Louis University Prevention Research Center, School of Medicine, and School of Public Health
Swope Parkway Health Center
University of Missouri Outreach and Extension Service
Washington University School of Medicine

Recent Accomplishments and Products
A statewide council has been formed and a planning process for the state plan has been developed; the council is approximately two-thirds through the planning process.

Upcoming Events and Products
A Burden of Obesity in Missouri report
An inventory of programs, services, and funding for state nutrition and physical activity programs
Regional town hall meetings focusing on comments on the draft state plan
Project Period: 2003–2008
Year First Funded: 2003
Funding Stage: Capacity Building
Contact Person:
Donna Mehrle
Program Coordinator
Missouri Department of Health and
Senior Services
Telephone: 573-522-2820
E-mail: mehrlD@dhss.mo.gov


Data Sources
CDC BRFSS — CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
CDC PedNSS — CDC’s Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System
CDC YRBSS — CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obes...s/missouri.htm

[Obesity Discussion]

Article

Two initiatives fight obesity

Springfield Public Schools is to be commended for its concern about the health conditions of its students and staff and its efforts to comply with federal law by adopting a new wellness policy by the start of the next school year. However, it may be that the wellness plan before the board does not reach far enough. Allow me to explain.
I have come to appreciate and value the proven effectiveness of coalitions and collaboratives for impacting widespread objectives (no pun intended). Sometimes what an issue lacks is an initiative to raise community awareness, organize partnerships, and encourage doable efforts.

In regard to the objective of reducing childhood and adult obesity via community collaboration, two such initiatives readily come to mind. Each holds great potential for addressing obesity and wellness concerns in that they offer opportunities for effective collaboration. One is also sensitive to the need for more targeted outreach to those disproportionately affected, ensuring optimal overall community success.

I'm referring to "Appetite for Life" and "3 V's for Life." The Ozarks Regional YMCA spearheads the former, while the latter is a project of Hand in Hand Ministries. Both are sensible, community-based approaches that foster community strategies rather than single-institution methods. They also promote small changes in nutrition and activity, as opposed to massive, sweeping changes, which usually result in resistance (if not all out rebellion).

School is an obvious component of most solutions that involve our children, and the school district certainly has the responsibility of oversight during the academic day. But it need not go it alone. Kids are at home, church, parks, clubs and other places for many more hours each week than in school. So including these partners in a multiple strategies approach should yield much better results than could ever be achieved by a single entity, no matter how well intended, informed, or mandated. The board would do well to look at the greater opportunity before it. Although its direct authority is limited to the food and activities associated with school, it is not precluded from actively aligning its policies with complimentary initiatives in the community.

By going the extra mile to convene an ongoing inclusive, collaborative conversation, this board could pave the way for a payoff that far exceeds the rewards of compliance.

For more information, please contact Brad Toft at the Ozarks Regional YMCA, 862-8962 and Julie Humphrey at Hand in Hand Ministries, 879-8500.

[Obesity Discussion]

Parents key in fight against obesity, experts say
By ALICE ROACH

June 30, 2006


Health professionals need the help of parents to counter the obesity epidemic, a federal health official said yesterday at a statewide conference focused on battling the bulge.

William Dietz, an obesity expert with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said parents need to encourage physical activity in young people, and minimizing their time in front of the television is one way to do that.

Dietz, noting that 25 percent of 2-year-olds have a TV in their bedroom, recommended eliminating bedroom televisions as well as those in dining areas. He also said parents need to keep TVs out of sight and reduce the number of sets.

“One reason parents are reluctant to control their children’s television time is that they are reluctant to control their (own) television time,� Dietz said.

In his keynote speech at the first Missouri Takes Action on Obesity conference, Dietz outlined an anti-obesity strategy that also includes decreasing soft drink consumption, breast-feeding, eating more fruits and vegetables and smaller portion sizes.

“We rarely implement these strategies simultaneously,� Dietz said. “We should implement them simultaneously. A single intervention strategy is not going to get us very far.�

The conference on Thursday was sponsored by Missouri Council for Activity and Nutrition, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and other state associations. About 350 people from schools, communities, health departments and other organizations attended.

Obesity is a rising health issue in Missouri. Sixty-two percent of Missouri adults were overweight or obese in 2004, according to the CDC. Over the past 15 years, obesity cases have almost doubled, and more than 23 percent of Missourians are obese, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Missouri children are also increasingly subject to being overweight. In 2003, 32 percent of students in sixth to eighth grades and 27 percent of high school students were overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, according to the CDC.

Being overweight or obese is linked to more than 30 health conditions, including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer, according to Missouri’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Plan.

Stacia Reilly, health educator for the Columbia/Boone County Health Department, said she hoped to learn more at the conference about programs she can tie into what her department is already doing to promote nutrition and physical activity.

The Health Department is already working with Active Living by Design, which works to increase physical activity by looking at community infrastructure and policies; Heart Power, a monthly program at the Columbia Public Library where children ages 3 to 5 learn how nutrition and physical activity impact their lifestyle; and Healthy Eating by Design, which promotes fruit and vegetable consumption at West Boulevard Elementary School.

Article

[Obesity Discussion]

Health summit seeks to snuff out smoking, obesity

By Sarah Daniel
The Sedalia Democrat


A group of people dedicated to improving health in Pettis County wants to put the smack down on butts -- both large ones and smoking ones.

The Blue Ribbon Health and Wellness Planning Team is focused on reducing tobacco use and obesity in the Pettis County.

The group hosted its second annual Community Health and Wellness Summit on Tuesday at the State Fair Community College Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center. About 50 people attended the event.

Those attending the summit split into four groups to find ways to reduce obesity within the schools and child care centers, community, family and workplace. The groups used a Missouri plan as a skeleton to create goals.

"Obesity is actually a pandemic today, and it's right here in our community," said Dr. Michael Perusich, a member of a group.

Some of the suggestions included encouraging healthier foods in work vending machines and food banks; offering cooking classes on nutritional meals; improving sidewalks and street lights to promote walking; and creating planners of activities for schoolchildren.

The committee will research ways to execute the suggestions.

The Blue Ribbon health committee is also dedicated to making Pettis County smoke-free. Patrick Reynolds, grandson of tobacco company founder R.J. Reynolds, was the keynote speaker at the event. Mr. Reynolds quit smoking and divested his stock in RJR, which makes Camel and other cigarette brands, when his father and several other relatives died from smoking-related illnesses.

Mr. Reynolds, 57, is founder of the Foundation for a Smokefree America. His ultimate goal is for a smoke-free world.

"One day, we'll have a tobacco-free society," Mr. Reynolds said. "We'll be smoke free at last, smoke free at last. Great God almighty, we'll be smoke free at last."

A step toward this goal is Missouri Amendment 3, on the ballot for the Nov. 7 election, Mr. Reynolds said. The amendment would raise the cigarette tax rate from 17 cents per pack to 97 cents.

"This is a tax on tobacco. Tobacco is killing people. How can a tax on tobacco be a bad thing?" Mr. Reynolds said.

The Blue Ribbon health committee has compiled a list of non-smoking restaurants and plans to promote those businesses. Committee members also touted smoking bans at SFCC and Bothwell Regional Health Center as steps to reaching a smoke-free Pettis County.

The summit was underwritten through a grant from the Charles M. Nutt Estate and the American Heart Association, along with several other local sponsors.

Obesity in Missouri