By Rajah Maples
Tuesday, November 03, 2009 at 3:25 p.m.
Read more: Local, Community, Health, Adams County, Obesity, Rates, Alliance for Building a Better Community
QUINCY, IL --
We hear a lot about the rise of obesity in this country, and the costs associated with it.
According to the www.healthyamericans.org, obesity costs the nation $75 billion in direct costs each year.
That figure got us wondering about how Tri-State residents measure up, so to speak, compared to the rest of the country.
KHQA's Rajah Maples started asking health departments in Adams, Marion and Lee counties questions to find out if obesity is a big problem here in the Tri-States.
This KHQA FactFinder Report reveals what she found out about Adams County.
The Alliance for Building Community or ABC is a community partnership of organizations, groups, and individuals working to improve the quality of life in Adams County. It's currently addressing obesity. Here's how - local volunteers are reviewing local data on obesity, physical activity, and nutrition in Adams County.
Here's what the organization has found so far -- 70.6 percent of Adams County adults are overweight or obese, compared to 62 percent in IL and 67 percent in the U.S.
Should we be alarmed by these statistics?
ABC Coordinator Laura Hyde answered, "We should be alarmed."
It doesn't end there. 51.5% of Adams County adults are either physically inactive or whose activities do not meet the standard for sustained physical activity.
Hyde said, "Rural areas, our stores, are farther away, so we tend to drive there rather than walk."
Volunteers with ABC plan to spend several months going through the data. They plan to address obesity by making community recommendations either in the spring or summer of 2010.
It's difficult, if not, impossible to assess how much obesity costs Adams County.
Laura Hyde with Alliance for Building Community said there are direct costs, which translates to medical costs classified as preventive diagnostic and treatment.
Then there are indirect costs, such as loss in productivity, absenteeism, and premature death.
You can find much more data about how obesity rates at the Web sites below.
Tuesday night on KHQA's Evening News, we'll show you how Southeast Iowa measures up with the rest of the state and what the Lee County Health Department is doing to help residents get healthier.
· 70.6% of Adams County adults are overweight or obese, compared to 62% in IL and 67% in the US (IL Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, IL Dept. of Public Health, 2009)
· 51.5% of Adams County adults are either physically inactive or whose activities do not meet the standard for sustained physical activity (IL Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, IL Dept. of Public Health, 2009)
· IL has the 27th highest rate of adult obesity (25.9%) in the nation (F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009; Trust for America’s Health; http://www.healthyamericans.org)
· IL is ranked 10th highest in the nation for overweight youth aged 10-17 years (34.9%) (F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009; Trust for America’s Health; http://www.healthyamericans.org)
· Obesity costs the nation $75 billion in direct costs each year (F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009, p. 29; Trust for America’s Health; http://www.healthyamericans.org)
· Total cost of obesity (direct + indirect costs) is as high as $139 billion per year (F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009, p. 29; Trust for America’s Health; http://www.healthyamericans.org)
