Children offer bright spot in Oklahoma's obesity rankings
SUSAN SIMPSON
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Published: July 2, 2009
Oklahomans are fat and getting fatter, according to a national report released Wednesday.
Oklahoma was ranked the sixth-most obese state in the nation for adults, up from eighth a year ago and at least the third increase in a row. Oklahoma’s adult obesity rate is 29.5 percent, according to the F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in
America report produced by the Trust for America’s Health and the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
"It wasn’t really a surprise,” said
Landon Norton, chief nutritionist for the
Oklahoma Health Department. "We’ve been in the top 10 since they started doing these reports.”
However, the state ranked 33rd in the nation for overweight and obese children ages 10 to 17.
The state’s rate of childhood overweight and obesity is 29.5 percent, tied with
Washington state.
State efforts have focused mostly on preventing obesity during childhood, Norton said, through programs that bring locally grown produce to public schools and limit soft drinks and junk foods in schools.
A new law also requires more physical exercise for schoolchildren.
Tackling adult obesity has been more difficult, mostly because of the state’s automobile dependence and lack of walking trails and sidewalks in many areas. Fast-food restaurants, however, are plentiful.
"We just don’t have a healthy mind-set,” Norton said, adding that obesity has an $850 million drain each year on the state economy.
Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health, said obesity is one of the biggest health problems in the U.S.
The lagging economy may discourage eating healthy foods that cost more than fat-laden options at fast-food restaurants.
Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity at 32.5 percent.
Colorado had the lowest rate at 18.9 percent.
Video: Watch children at a fitness camp why they want to be fit and healthy.
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