Utah leaner in a country that's too fat

Although Utah children aren't as fat as kids in every other state but one, nearly a fourth of them are headed for obesity and the likely prospect that they'll be the first generation of grown-ups to be unhealthier than the one they replace.

To tie with Minnesota with the lowest rate of overweight and obesity nationwide is commendable, a new survey of U.S. obesity rates concludes. But a high score is like being graded on the curve on which the whole country deserves an "F" – as in Fat and as in Failure--when it comes to controlling the rampant obesity epidemic in the United States, say researchers who compiled the 2009 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's annual state-by-state obesity assessment.

It's one time that it's good to score at the bottom, as Utah and Minnesota do in the survey, said Dr. James S. Marks, senior vice-president of the foundation. He spoke during a Wednesday national news conference announcing the report, titled "F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America." The report is available at www.healthyamericans.org.

Considering the fact that in 1991 no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent and that chronic illnesses associated with obesity account for upwards of 30 percent of all health care costs, "this is clearly a public health issue that has become a crisis and is the single biggest threat to good health no matter what state you're from," Marks said.

People worry about cancer or a new flu strain, but overweight and obesity are a much greater threat to a person's well-being, and it's not maybe, but probably, given current economic and social drivers today, area public health officials and local physicians said Wednesday.

A combination of people eating fast food, spending their lives behind a computer, behind the car steering wheel or plopped in front of the TV or video game screen all contribute to obesity, said Tania Charette, director of the physical activity, nutrition and obesity prevention program for the Utah Department of Health.

A sedentary lifestyle is easy, and you can eat while you're doing it, she said. She and other state nutritionists point out that as the lack of activity has increased, the stream of fast, fat-inducing food is getting deeper while nutritious foods keep getting more expensive. Food prices are projected to rise by 5 percent by the end of this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Both public and private nutrition campaigns and programs are up and running, and a bigger public education campaign at the level of the successful anti-smoking effort are coming, she said.

But changing the national attitude about obesity is not quite as simple as changing the way smoking is viewed, said primary care physician and health care system reform activist Dr. Joseph Jarvis.