Health News
It can be done. A determined state can move the needle on its obesity numbers. Heidi Hall of The Tennessean reports that widespread efforts to change Tennesseans? diet and exercise habits mean that the state?s percentage of obese residents have dropped for two consecutive years ? something that hasn?t happened in more than a decade. "A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moves Tennessee out of the top 10 most obese states for the first time since 1999 ? it?s now ranked 15th ? and," Hall notes, "is prompting cautious optimism in leaders charged with slimming down the state." (Associated Press photo)
The question, writes Hall, is what pellets of the state's shotgun approach are working. In a state that added bike lanes and sidewalks, altered its school lunches, and added fresh produce to convenience stores, where should credit go? ?I think the biggest success is that we increased awareness around the issue,? said Ted Cornelius, the Tennessee Obesity Task Force?s co-chair. ?We have the capacity to analyze barriers people face -- cost, access to healthy food and places to be active -- and we keep bringing those up to leaders in communities.?
The percentage of Tennesseans considered obese peaked at 32.9 percent in 2009 and dropped to 29.2 percent last year. Rural areas lead the drop, moving from 70.7 percent overweight in 2009 to 64.7 percent last year, but Schlundt said it may not be time to celebrate just yet. Rural residents took a similar jump upward from 2005-06, and both could be anomalies because the CDC surveyed fewer rural residents. (Read more)
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A new report shows 29.5 percent of Kentuckians are obese, sixth highest in the nation. The state ranked second in the nation for the highest percentage of diabetes, with 13.7 percent of Kentucky residents diagnosed with the disease, and fourth in...
- Overweight People Tend To Cluster With Those Who Are Likewise
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Health News
Volunteer State becoming Salad State? CDC report shows Tennessee is getting less obese, leaving U.S.'s top 10
The question, writes Hall, is what pellets of the state's shotgun approach are working. In a state that added bike lanes and sidewalks, altered its school lunches, and added fresh produce to convenience stores, where should credit go? ?I think the biggest success is that we increased awareness around the issue,? said Ted Cornelius, the Tennessee Obesity Task Force?s co-chair. ?We have the capacity to analyze barriers people face -- cost, access to healthy food and places to be active -- and we keep bringing those up to leaders in communities.?
The percentage of Tennesseans considered obese peaked at 32.9 percent in 2009 and dropped to 29.2 percent last year. Rural areas lead the drop, moving from 70.7 percent overweight in 2009 to 64.7 percent last year, but Schlundt said it may not be time to celebrate just yet. Rural residents took a similar jump upward from 2005-06, and both could be anomalies because the CDC surveyed fewer rural residents. (Read more)
- Rural Children Are More Likely To Be Obese, But Rural Communities Have Several Strategies To Fight The Problem
Children living in rural areas are about 25 percent more likely to be overweight or obese than children in urban areas, studies show. Rural communities have come up with several strategies to battle childhood obesity, Sarah Lifsey and Karah Mantinan report...
- Study Says Overweight Kids Become Overweight Teens
If a child is overweight in kindergarten, she probably will be in eighth grade, says a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. And if your baby was heavy at birth, it has a greater chance of being fat. It found overweight kindergartners...
- Community-based Solutions To Childhood Obesity Show Signs Of Progress Elsewhere; Will Kentucky Pick Up On Them?
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News For decades, researchers reported with alarm the increasing trend of overweight children in America, with one in three kids on the way to developing Type 2 diabetes. Across the country, action has been taken to address...
- Kentucky Ranked Sixth In Nation For Obesity, Fourth In High Blood Pressure, Second For Diabetes
A new report shows 29.5 percent of Kentuckians are obese, sixth highest in the nation. The state ranked second in the nation for the highest percentage of diabetes, with 13.7 percent of Kentucky residents diagnosed with the disease, and fourth in...
- Overweight People Tend To Cluster With Those Who Are Likewise
The adage "birds of a feather flock together" seems to apply when it comes to the obesity, with a study concluding that overweight people tend to befriend others who are overweight. Obesity also tends to run in families, with obese parents raising...