MMS Physician Focus: February 2009
By Bruce Auerbach, M.D.Massachusetts wants us to move. No, it's not about living
elsewhere. It's about physical movement, as in exercising our
bodies (and exercising better judgment about what we put into our
bodies), pushing ourselves away from the table, and getting up off
the couch more often than we do now.
The state Department of Public Health (DPH) has launched Mass in
Motion, a campaign targeting overweight and obesity, health
problems affecting millions of people in our state and across the
nation. The campaign's goals are two, simply stated, and ambitious:
to decrease the number of overweight and obese adults and children
and to reduce the amount of chronic disease associated with
unhealthy eating and lack of exercise.
It's hard to overstate the issue or the need to act. According to
the Centers for Disease Control, more than 66 percent of American
adults over 20 years of age are overweight or obese. Of those, 32
percent are considered obese. In addition, 17 percent of
adolescents 12-19 years of age and 19 percent of children age 6-11
are considered overweight. (The distinction between
overweight and obese is determined by Body Mass Index, a physical
measurement related to body fat. Check yours at www.cdc.gov/bmi.)
The Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, in their fifth annual report F as in Fat 2008, said
that obesity rates increased in 37 states within the last year, and
that no state - not one - saw a decrease. Obesity rates now exceed
25 percent of the population in more than half of
states.
Even here in Massachusetts, a relatively healthy state compared
to others, overweight and obesity are major problems, and no one
seems immune. Consider these facts from DPH:
More than half of adults and almost one-third of high-school
and middle-school students are overweight or obese.
In a survey taken between 2003-2007, Black adults were 60
percent more likely, and Hispanic adults 50 percent more likely to
be obese than their white counterparts.
Adult obesity in Massachusetts accounts for $1.8 billion in
medical expenses, according to the Centers for Disease
Control.
The medical evidence is clear and convincing about the
consequences of overweight and obesity. Heart disease, cancer, type
2 diabetes, stroke, arthritis, depression, and sleep and
respiratory problems are just some of the illnesses associated with
the conditions. Childhood obesity, even in infancy, can have
ramifications well into adulthood. And besides the personal
suffering and illness, a bigger financial burden is put on our
health care system, as more money is spent to treat more chronic
disease afflicting more patients.
This epidemic of overweight and obesity is not a new crisis.
Nine years ago, then US Surgeon General David Satcher issued a
'call to action,' saying that overweight and obesity "may soon
cause as much preventable disease and death as cigarette smoking."
Unfortunately, too few were paying attention then.
To be sure, many steps have been taken to fight obesity.
Schools, businesses, health care providers, elected officials,
public health agencies, and food manufacturers have all established
new programs, regulations, and products to help people trim the fat
and get more fit.
But judging by the numbers, we've barely moved the needle, if at
all. Mass in Motion, with its emphasis on healthy diet and exercise
and individual responsibility, provides us with another opportunity
to answer a call to improve our wellness. The state has drawn on
the expertise of physicians, nurses, and public health advocates in
developing the program, and it's the first initiative backed by all
of the state's major health-funding foundations. The campaign will
reach into communities, schools, and companies across the
Commonwealth.
The drumbeat for healthier diets and more exercise can never be
too loud. Obesity and overweight are both personal and public
health issues, and their medical and health consequences are too
serious, and becoming too common, to ignore. Visit www.mass.gov/massinmotion. It's one way
we can all make a move to better health.
Bruce Auerbach, M.D. is President of the Massachusetts
Medical Society and Vice President of Emergency and Ambulatory
Services at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, Mass. Physician
Focus is a public service of the Massachusetts Medical
Society. Readers should use their own judgment when seeking medical
care and consult with their physician for treatment. Comments
toPhysicianFocus@mms.org.
