A new study shows that obesity rates for Kentuckians remain among the highest in the nation – particularly among school age children.
While adult obesity rates have increased in 28 states, with marked disparities along racial and ethnic lines, four states last year had obesity rates above 30 percent. This year, Kentucky adults join that group, ranking as the seventh most obese state, while Kentucky children ranked third behind only Mississippi and Georgia.
As the country’s obesity epidemic worsens, obesity rates for adults now exceed 25 percent in more than two-thirds of the states, with the highest rates among Latinos and blacks, according to the report F as in Fat 2010: How the Obesity Crisis Threatens America’s Future, authored by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Eight states now have rates above 30 percent – Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia. Nine of the 10 states with the highest rates of obese children are in the South.
Obesity rates for children ages 10–17, defined as body mass index greater than the 95th percentile for the age group, ranged from a low of 9.6 percent in Oregon to a high of 21.9 percent in Mississippi.
While the news was bad, researchers also suggested ways to ensure that obesity prevention measures are implemented most strategically to help address the problem including the expansion of community-based prevention programs and investments in research and evaluation.
The Barren River Regional Health Department, The Medical Center’s Health and Wellness Center and Bowling Green pediatrician Dr. Debra Sowell are pursuing community-based initiatives, including a walking program for kids that also includes nutrition counseling. There is no fee to join, but participants are asked to complete a registration form and log the miles he or she walks.
The program was launched about two weeks ago and the response so far has been lukewarm, Sowell said, despite stepped-up nutritional and physical activity efforts of area local schools.
“Kentucky has a big problem,” she said, responding to results of the obesity report. “A lot has been done but you would be surprised at the numbers of kindergarten and sixth-grade kids I’m still seeing.”
The school programs in Warren County and Bowling Green are still fairly new so the new research may not truly reflect the whole situation here, according to Barren River Regional Health Department dietitian, Teresia Huddleston.
The health department has also begun collecting data from schools in the region on body mass index to help with grants directed at exercise and nutritional programs, While Bowling Green and Warren County schools have implemented nutritional program aimed at reducing obesity, many rural schools in the region are not doing as much, Huddleston said.
The 2010 Nutrition and Physical Activity Report Cards for Warren County and Bowling Green Independent schools show that new health initiatives – zero trans fats, low-fat milk, steamed and baked entrees – are meeting goals designed to improve the health of students. The schools are meeting those goals while holding the line on costs as well.
More than 1.8 million lunches will be served in Warren County schools this year, and those meals are healthier and provide more nutritious choices for students, while the cost has not increased since the 2003-04 school year, according to Gina Howard, director of food service and nutrition for the district.
Schools are close to meeting goals for reduced calories and high nutritional value with a target of 664 calories in a meal. The 2010 analysis showed that the actual calorie count is 700, along with increases in iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C and protein. The district also exceeded its goal in total fat intake, aiming for 30 percent of total calories when the actual was lower at 25 percent. Students are also consuming less saturated fat with 6.93 percent of calories coming from that source.
For $1.75 – or 40 cents reduced – Warren County’s 21 schools have begun offering whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables and low-fat milk daily in addition to using zero trans fat oils and improved cooking equipment that allows vegetables, pizza and french fries to be steamed.
The cost factor is particularly important too as the national report also shows that obesity rates appear to have some relationship with poverty rates in many states, including Kentucky, Mississippi, Washington, D.C., Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Arizona and West Virginia.
The number of Warren County students eating breakfast is also growing with an average of 646,289 participants now over last year’s 614,498.
The Bowling Green Independent Schools district is also making strides to meet its nutrition goals. The district is currently meeting its target of 645 calories while the local analysis showed the district was over its targets for iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C and protein. In fat intake, aiming for 30 percent of total calories, the district is consuming 2.8 percent more than its goal.
The number of lunches and breakfasts served increased over the previous year. According the school system’s nutrition and physical activity report card, 550,993 lunches were served, with an average daily participation of more than 3,000 students. The report card noted that 1,824 students eat free, 211 eat at the reduced price of 40 cents and 1,704 eat at the regular lunch price of $2.
— For more information on the walking program, call The Medical Center Community Wellness Department at 745-1010 or 1-800-624-2318. For more on the report, go to Trust for America’s Health: http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2010.
