Latest News Local News Put down the corn dog, back away slowly
Put down the corn dog, back away slowly
by: JULIE DELCOUR Associate Editor
Sunday, July 04, 2010
A national obesity report, cruelly named "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future," came out last week. It reached this conclusion: Stick a fork in Oklahoma and it bleeds gravy. 
Oklahoma may have made strides toward reducing childhood obesity rates recently through education and greater access to healthy fare and exercise at school. But multiple efforts over the years to reduce this state's adult obesity rates haven't had much impact — yet. Adult Oklahomans continue to pile on the pounds, according to the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which, for the seventh year, have weighed the implications of obesity data.
The report doesn't put Oklahoma in a slimming light. Adult obesity rates have risen in 28 states in the past year, and declined only in the District of Columbia. The report underscores troubling ethnic, racial, regional and income disparities in the nation's obesity epidemic.
Adult obesity rates for African-Americans and Latinos were higher than for whites in at least 40 states; 10 out of the 11 states with the highest rates of obesity were in the South; 35.3 percent of adults earning less than $15,000 per year were obese compared with 24.5 percent of adults earning $50,000 or more.
More than two-thirds of states — 38 — have adult obesity rates above 25 percent. In 1991, no state had an obesity rate over 20 percent. Oklahoma, with a rate of 30.6 percent, is now No. 6, behind Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee (the latter two tied for No. 2), West Virginia and Louisiana as among the "fattest" states.
These six states just don't have barbecue in common. Residents also share an affinity for other fatty foods in large quantities. And, when there's a pause in the party, we take a nap. Eventually many of us get sick — high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, cancer.
A calorie-rich diet and a sedentary lifestyle are blamed, in part, for our No. 6 ranking. (Colorado has the lowest obesity rate).
Tough but not healthy
But there's something else at play here. Oklahomans apparently don't scare easily. The health risks associated with extra poundage aren't resonating with over-eaters and under-exercisers. Our adult obesity rate is above 30 percent for the first time ever. Last year it was 29.5 percent. And the troubling part is that this rising rate of obesity — an increase every year for the last five years — might not stop.
Oklahoma Commissioner of Health Terry Cline warns that if something doesn't change Oklahoma could elbow its way to the front of the obesity line.
"We don't have to accept this as our fate," Cline said last week, in an article by Tulsa World medical writer Kim Archer. "This is not fait accompli. This is not something that is happening to us. This is something we can do something about."
But what? Oklahomans seem amazingly unconcerned that we also rank in the top 10 states in rates of diabetes, hypertension and physical inactivity.
"The consequences are very serious and can indeed be fatal," Cline warns. "That is why bringing (this adult obesity epidemic described in the 2010 report) to our attention is critical. This isn't just to make us all feel miserable with our plight. This is to bring it to our attention, to educate us and then help nudge us toward action to help reduce the ill effects of, in many case, our own behavior."
In 2009, the state launched the Oklahoma Health Improvement Plan, which targeted reducing the rates of obesity, tobacco and childhood health issues.
The plan's motto: "Strong and Healthy Oklahoma," encourages Oklahomans to "Eat better. Move more. Be tobacco-free."
But will we accept the challenge? It's no coincidence that Oklahoma is a go-to state when major chains scout test markets for new fast food products. We've got a lot to offer.
Those chains have only to look at our child and adult obesity rates over time to know they can count on Oklahomans not to count calories. Oklahomans are exceedingly loyal constituents of the fast food nation. We're a state in which fruit and vegetable consumption is low. How low? Oklahoma ranked No. 50 a few years back.
A widening body of evidence tells us that unhealthy lifestyles established early in life, such as poor exercise and eating habits, smoking and lack of exercise, if left unchecked, create medical consequences down the road. Obese children grow up to be obese adults unless something gets in the way such as health education and lifestyle changes.
And don't even think about writing all those extra pounds off on genetics. Genetics can predispose us to weight gain but 30 percent to 40 percent of our general health is determined by how we treat our bodies, Cline said.
If half of Oklahoma adults would follow the Oklahoma Health Improvement Plan motto, "we would see incredible change over time," Cline said.
But, can we make it happen? We can. Sometime, someday Oklahomans are going to make F-as-in-Fat authors eat their words.
Read the story in the Tulsa World
Julie DelCour, 581-8379
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