Kansas obesity tops 25 percent

Kansas has joined the ranks of states with an adult obesity rate higher than 25 percent, according to a new report released on Tuesday.

According to the “F is for Fat” report issued by Trust for America’s Health, Kansas is the 23rd-fattest state, with 25.8 percent of its adult population obese and 62.3 percent either obese or overweight.

Last year, the state’s rate was 24.3 percent, putting it 27th nationwide.

“Obesity is probably the largest public health problem facing our country and has the most dramatic impact on the conditions that are driving escalating health-care costs,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health. “We are now at two-thirds of the country overweight or obese. Some forecasts say that within the next decade that will be 75 percent. People are not leading as healthy lives as they could.”

Mississippi led the nation with a 31.7 percent obesity rate, one of three states with an obesity rate higher than 30 percent. The other two were West Virginia and Alabama.

The report, which uses a three-year average to determine obesity rates, says only 22 states now have obesity rates less than 25 percent — down from 31 states the previous year. Colorado, at 18.4 percent, is the only state with an obesity rate of less than 20 percent.

In 1980, the national average of obese adults was 15 percent; in 1991, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent, the report says.

Rising food costs, bigger portions and a lack of exercise all are blamed for the national increase. Part of the challenge is figuring out how to best fix the problem when government resources are tight, the report said.

State Sen. Jim Barnett, an Emporia Republican who also is a physician, said that while things such as school lunches can be addressed by state government, the adult obesity problem is more a matter of personal responsibility.

“We know there’s a problem. We don’t know how to approach the problem,” Barnett said. “It raises the question of how much can you legislate behavior and diet in a population.”

A proponent of bariatric surgery, also known as weight-loss surgery, Barnett introduced a measure last year in the Senate to study the cost-effectiveness of the procedure. He said he is optimistic that over time it will become more common and covered by insurance.

Still, “so much of this goes back to personal responsibility,” he said. “I believe education and better airing of the topic across the state is important. And targeting childhood obesity. The greatest savings will come with earlier intervention and prevention.”

Calling obesity an epidemic, Levi said it will take a lot more federal money before the tide can be turned in the battle of the bulge.

“Not enough money is coming from the federal government,” he said. “Funding over the last few years has been going down for obesity efforts. If we take seriously the notion that this is a major public health crisis, we need to invest more money.”

While Levi acknowledged an increased awareness of the obesity issue, he said economic factors are preventing some people from changing their eating habits because they simply can’t afford it.

“Unfortunately the healthier food is often more expensive,” he said. “Poverty programs like food stamps don’t adapt for that.”

According to the report, obesity can result in ailments such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. While people are more aware of the dangers of obesity, many just don’t have the tools to make the needed lifestyle changes, Levi said.

“We live in a society that does not encourage or promote the kind of behavior that makes a difference,” he said. “We have to do a better job of helping them make healthy choices.

“If you go into a restaurant and have to guess what is the healthier choice, that’s not the place to be. If you are in a community without sidewalks, that’s not a place to be. But when we make it easier for people to make healthy choices, that’s a different story.”

Barnett, who has been a doctor for 26 years and has seen firsthand the problems associated with obesity, said the U.S. has to tackle the issue if it is to remain competitive with the rest of the world.

“I traveled to China the last couple of summers, and it’s so obvious the size of Americans versus the size of the Chinese,” he said. “We’re overweight. They’re thin and trim.”