Illinois adults getting fatter - State ranks 26th in U.S. for obesity

Illinois adults getting fatter - State ranks 26th in U.S. for obesity
By Monica Eng
Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune
9:00 a.m. CDT, June 29, 2010
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/chi-100629illinois-obesity,0,5325810.story



Illinois' adult population keeps growing fatter, with the state's obesity rate rising to 26.6 percent in 2009, nearly a full percentage point higher than the previous year.

That figure places the state 26th in the nation for adult obesity, up from 27th, according to the latest annual report on obesity from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, released Tuesday.

Illinois' men, meanwhile, tip the scales over its women, with 27.8 percent of men in the state qualifying as obese vs. 25.5 percent of women.

In partnership with the Trust for America's Health, the foundation tracks the nation's weight each year by crunching numbers from the most recent surveys by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as data from the two previous years.

The heaviest state for adults remained Mississippi (33.8 percent adult obesity), while Colorado had the fewest obese adults at 19.1 percent.

The study breaks heaviness into two categories: obese (body mass index over 30) and overweight (body mass index between 25 and 29.9). Combined, these two categories described 63.6 percent of Illinois adults in 2009.

The fact that Illinois' adult obesity rate rose 0.8 percentage points in a single year alarmed Elissa Bassler, CEO of the Illinois Public Health Institute.

"We tend to think of obesity and chronic disease as something where the trends move pretty slowly, but this is fast and it underscores the real need to attend to this issue both for kids and adults," Bassler said.

Illinois' ranking on childhood obesity -- fourth in the nation -- remained unchanged because it is based on data from a survey (the National Survey of Children's Health) that is conducted every four years. The next results will come out in 2012.
Tribune reporter Monica Eng answers questions about the study and its findings on Trib Nation.
The public health institute has gathered several state organizations to develop the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity. It plans to hold regional hearings on the topic throughout the summer and release an anti-obesity action plan in early December.

This year, the foundation's report on obesity broke down adult data by race and gender as well as socioeconomic, diet and health factors.

Significantly higher levels of obesity, being overweight, diabetes and hypertension were found among African-Americans and Latinos in relation to whites. Obesity rates among African-American adults topped 40 percent in nine states. Latino adult obesity rates were above 35 percent in two states. Obesity also correlated with living in Southern states, lower education levels and lower income levels.

In Illinois the rate of adult obesity was 35.5 percent for African-Americans, 30.6 for Latinos and 25.3 for whites.

Among health categories for adults, Illinois ranked 21st in diabetes prevalence with 8.4 percent; 19th in physical inactivity with 24.9 percent and 23rd in hypertension with 27.5 percent. The states with the 10 highest levels of diabetes and hypertension are all located in the South.

Another new finding in the report, based on a recent survey, found that 84 percent of parents believe their children are at a healthy weight, although nearly a third of all American children and teens are obese or overweight. The Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children found similar misperceptions among parents when it studied Chicago neighborhoods, said executive director Adam Becker.

"I think that parents tend to underestimate how at risk their kids are for weight issues," he said. "Parents seem to be able to recognize when their kids are extremely obese, but when they are not at the extreme ends, parents think their kids are at a healthy weight when they are not. This leads them to pay less attention to messages about nutrition, physical activity and generally maintaining a healthy weight."

meng@tribune.com