At 13th fattest in U.S., Texas adults outweighed by their children, who rank 7th
Programs are underway to tackle childhood obesity, but much more needs to be done, experts say.
By Mary Ann Roser
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
A national report last week that says Texas adults are the 13th fattest in the nation had worse news for Texas children: They were the seventh most obese in the nation.
"My heart is saddened," said Dr. Kimberly Avila Edwards, medical director of the Healthy Living Happy Living program at Dell Children's Medical Center. "A few years ago, there was hope obesity rates were leveling off."
Texas is paying more attention to childhood obesity, and progress is being made, but it takes time for rates to improve, Avila Edwards and others said.
The seventh annual "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2010" report by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation says the state's adult obesity rate is 29 percent, up from 27.9 percent last year. Texas ranked 14th last year in adult obesity.
Among children ages 10 to 17, 20.4 percent were obese, the report said. In the 2009 report, 32.2 percent were obese and overweight based on the same data, but this year, only the rate of obese children was included, said Laura Segal, a spokeswoman at the health trust.
"Obesity is one of the biggest public health challenges the country has ever faced, and troubling disparities exist based on race, ethnicity, region and income," said Jeffrey Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health. "This report shows that the country has taken bold steps to address the obesity crisis in recent years, but the nation's response has yet to fully match the magnitude of the problem."
In the Austin area, various programs are under way, including one cited in the report as a strategy that works.
Known as the CATCH program, or Coordinated Approach to Child Health, the trial program teaches schoolchildren that eating healthy and being physically active every day can be fun. It is a project of the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living at the University of Texas' School of Public Health Austin Regional Campus. Travis County students in the program saw an 8.3 percent decline in obesity and overweight rates, the report says.
"We see one of our biggest issues is to get community support for these initiatives and to get resources to help make it easier for parents to do," said Deanna Hoelscher, executive director of the UT center.
Other groups in the Austin area also are helping, she said, citing Marathon Kids, Active Life and Sustainable Foods Center.
Dell Children's Medical Center has a clinic that opened in April that provides individual attention to obese children referred by primary care doctors, including visits with a dietician, social worker, psychologist (if needed) and doctor who helps the patient lose weight.
The hospital's Healthy Living Happy Living involves the family, said Avila Edwards, who is on the hospital's faculty.
El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission in Austin is using a grant from the St. David's Foundation to help young children adopt healthier habits and prevent obesity.
maroser@statesman.com; 445-3619
