Partnership involves kids in fighting obesity in young
Obesity is tipping the scales as one of Tennessee's biggest problems Over the past 20 years in Tennessee, the average male has added 19.4 pounds and the average female has added 17.9 pounds.
That's an alarming trend, and it's playing out in just about every community across the country. In fact, it's a trend that has catapulted obesity to one of the top health problem facing our state and our nation.
According to the 20th annual America's Health Rankings released recently, obesity has risen almost 130 percent since the rankings were first issued. A whopping 27 percent of the U.S. population is now considered obese. In Tennessee, 31.2 percent of our population is obese, putting our state among the top five most obese states in the union.
If the trend continues, nearly half of Tennessee's population will be obese within the next decade, costing a projected $7.08 billion ' or $1,442 per adult ' for state health-care spending. Most of that comes from obesity-related health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
That's why there is a growing consensus that tackling obesity is a critical element of reducing the rates of chronic disease and reining in rising health-care costs.
Rate among kids has doubled
While it's important to provide programs and resources for adults, it's more critical to focus on breaking the cycle among our youth, among whom the rates of obesity have more than doubled in the past three decades.
Through the UnitedHealth HEROES grant program ' a partnership between UnitedHealthcare and the nonprofit Youth Service America ' young people, working through educators and youth leaders, are being encouraged to create and implement local hands-on programs to address childhood obesity. Dozens of applications have poured in from across the state.
Research has shown that young people who participate in service-learning programs improve their academic performance and critical-thinking skills, increase their confidence and sense of potential, and accept leadership roles. Such programs are a crucial part of the solution to the serious dangers posed by our growing waistlines.
Overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. And overweight children and adolescents are far more likely to have risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes. Experts increasingly agree we must intervene early in life if we are to reverse the trend in obesity rates in our country.
We should commend the young people in our area who are making a difference and join them in taking action on this important issue. Our physical health as a community, and our fiscal health as a nation, depends on it.
