Fulton Health PICH Partner Urges Intensified Efforts to Curb Georgia’s Obesity Problem

Anyway you view it, obesity is a problem in Georgia.

It ranks as the 19th most obese state in the U.S., according to The State of Obesity 2015 report released last month by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Within the state, the research shows, 16.5% of 10-17 year olds, 13.2% of low-income 2-4 year olds, and 30.5% of adults are obese. Read the report here: http://stateofobesity.org/files/stateofobesity2015.pdf.

The statistics are based on self-reported information obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System dataset. The 2014 data, plotted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, is shown below.

 

In a recent op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dr. Rodney Lyn, associate professor at the Georgia State University School of Public Health—a Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness Partnerships to Improve Community Health (PICH) Program partner—notes that the latest figures are a slight improvement over previous years in a few areas, most notably in the obesity rates among preschoolers from low-income families. But there’s still far more work to do. Dr. Lyn lists the chronic health consequences Georgia faces if current obesity trends continue unabated, including higher heart disease and adult-onset diabetes. To curb these trends, he prescribes “a more far-reaching, evidence-based, statewide obesity prevention campaign that reaches all citizens, young and old.” Read the op-ed here: bit.ly/1M7t2XL. 

The Fulton County PICH Program is working with Georgia State University School of Public Health and other partners to build skills, develop strategies and implement programs that prevent and reduce obesity, asthma, lung disease and other chronic ailments among County residents. The PICH Program is made possible by funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under cooperative agreement #IU58 DP005568-01.  For more information, please email us at pich.grant@fultoncountyga.gov.