ADULT OBESITY CONTINUES TO GAIN

Volume 27, Issue 476 October 2, 2006

As part of their Healthy People 2010 objectives, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) set the goal of reducing the prevalence of obesity among adults in the United States by 15 percent by the year 2010. However, according to the CDC, both national-level data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and state-level data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) indicate that the prevalence of obesity among adults continued to increase during the past decade, from 11.6 percent in 1999 to nearly 24 percent in 2005 (see table below).

Meanwhile, a Sept. 18 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) finds that the many obesity prevention programs targeted at children and youth that are in place are fragmented and small-scale. Furthermore, systematic monitoring and evaluation of prevention efforts is lacking, as well as a mechanism to disseminate and apply lessons learned. The report recommends that federal, state and local governments establish high-level task forces to identify priorities for action and to coordinate public-sector efforts. Secondly, policymakers are urged to evaluate existing prevention programs, and develop and implement improvements. A third recommendation urges governments at all levels to develop new surveillance systems, while increasing funding for obesity prevention research. Finally, the IOM recommends releasing information on evaluations of childhood obesity policies and interventions. It suggests that the federal government provide incentives and rewards to state and local government agencies to coordinate efforts that improve outcomes for children and youth. To read the report, click here.

© Copyright 2006, State Health Notes