State’s Adult Obesity Rate Lowest ; but Rankings Threatened By at-Risk Populations, Health Experts Warn

In the nation’s fight against fat, Colorado ranks the best of the worst, according to a study by nonprofit Trust for America’s Health.

The report, which critiqued the effects of state and federal health and nutrition policies, ranked Colorado 51st in adult obesity levels, with 16 percent of the population falling into that category, and 51st in adult-onset diabetes levels, with 4.7 percent.

But the good news stops there.

Nutrition and health experts note that at-risk populations in the state are growing rapidly and, if not addressed, could push Colorado up in the rankings.

“We’re the best, but we’re catching up to everybody else,” said Art Campfield, professor of food science and human nutrition at Colorado State University.

“Hispanic people are at least twice the risk for diseases associated with weight gain. If you look at the last census, they are the largest growing population of our state and the whole country.”

The study, titled “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America,” reported that almost 119 million American adults, or 65 percent of the population, are overweight or obese and that the costs of obesity are more than $117 billion per year.

In Colorado, though adults have the lowest level of obesity, low- income children ages 2 to 5 rank 37th at 8.7 percent.

“A hundred years ago in Colorado you just didn’t have to think about getting some exercise” because of the intense lifestyle, said Dr. Dan Bessesen, chief of endocrinology at Denver Health. “But it’s not automatic anymore. People don’t pay attention to how much they’re eating and how little they are doing.”

According to the report, the state spent an estimated $192 per person in 2003 on medical costs related to obesity – the 44th- highest amount in the nation.

“Americans’ growing waistlines are leading to escalating disease rates and costs,” said Shelley A. Hearne, executive director of Trust for America’s Health, in a statement. “There is so much more the government can and should be doing to address the obesity crisis.”

The report faulted school food and physical activity programs, noting insufficient nutritional standards for vending machine food.

Colorado is among the 18 states that limit the availability of such foods beyond federal requirements, but Campfield, who heads the obesity-prevention initiative Program Energy, said that food in vending machines is only part of the problem.

“Banning soda machines is much ado about nothing,” he said. “It’s not good to have soda in schools, but it’s also not good to have kids who just sit.”

Bessesen explained that diabetes is caused by slow, steady weight gain in people who consume about 100 or 200 calories more than necessary per day.

“It doesn’t take a whole lot of energy imbalance to gain weight,” Bessesen said, and turning that around by doing 20 minutes of exercise or a modest change in diet is all it takes to reduce the risk of diabetes.

INFOBOX

Obesity by the numbers

119 million overweight or obese Americans

65 percent of population overweight or obese

$117 billion: cost of obesity annually

51st Colorado’s rank on obesity scale

Source: Trust For America’s Health