Transcript Document 7252366

A study of the effects of Oregon’s
obesity epidemic on Salem’s
primary school students
By: Cord Jonson
Overview
• This presentation will attempt to address the
following questions:
• How serious is the obesity epidemic in America
today?
• How does childhood obesity in Oregon compare
to national averages?
• What are the primary causes of this epidemic,
and what is being done to combat it?
• What did I see in my experiences at the Bush
school in terms of evidence of this epidemic or in
terms of evidence of an attempt to combat it?
General information about obesity
in America
• Nearly two out of every three Americans are overweight or obese.
• One out of every eight deaths in America is caused by an illness
directly related to being obese or overweight (Primarily diabetes,
heart disease, asthma, hypertension and joint damage). This comes
out to around 300,000 deaths per year.
• A recent study showed that people considered to be obese use 39%
more health care resources and 100% more pharmaceuticals than
those who are not obese.
• This year well over 100 billion dollars in health care spending will go
towards treating ailments directly related to obesity.
• Obesity is more prevalent in men. It is significantly more prevalent in
Mexican and African Americans. It is significantly more prevalent in
low-income families and. It is twice as prevalent in high school drop
outs than in college graduates.
Health problems associated with
obesity:
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Diabetes
Heart disease
Asthma
Sleep apnea
Hyper tension
Mental health issues related to social stigma
associated with obesity and overweight.
• Gall bladder disease
• Osteoarthritis
Correlations between adult and
childhood obesity
• Heredity has a significant
influence on obesity,
regional fat distribution
and response to
overfeeding.
• Children of obese parents
are more likely to adopt
behavior that encourages
obesity.
• If a child has an obese
parent, his or her risk of
becoming obese doubles.
Childhood obesity in America
• Between 1963 and 2002,
the percentage of obese
children in America rose
from 4.2% to 15.8%
• Obesity rates are
significantly higher for
children from low-income
families, because eating
energy-dense, highly
palatable, refined foods is
cheaper per calorie
consumed than buying
fish and fresh fruits and
vegetables
Childhood obesity in America
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Childhood and adolescent obesity
has been proven to strongly
influence adult obesity. In fact,
about 80 percent of obese
adolescent will become obese
adults.
This is a serious problem because
in addition to the physical health
problems related to obesity, obese
children are more likely to suffer
from low self esteem and there
have been studies that revealed a
clear correlation between obesity
and poor academic performance.
It has also been proven that obese
or overweight people are less
likely to get hired for jobs later on
in life.
Obesity in Oregon
• Oregon has recently been labeled “the
fattest state west of the Rockies.” by the
Portland Tribune.
• 22% of adults in Oregon are obese and
60% are overweight.
• Between 1990 and 2002, the obesity rate
for Oregon adults increased by a
staggering 86 percent.
Obesity in Oregon
• In Fact, while in 1991 Oregon’s
obesity rate was a
respectable .8% below the
national average, by 2000
Oregon that number had
jumped to 21%. This means
that while obesity in America
was rising at .78% a year,
obesity in Oregon was rising at
9.8% per year. This also
means that although in 2000
Oregon had the 15th highest
obesity percentage in the
nation, it had the 5th highest
obesity growth rate during the
period from 1991-2000.
Childhood obesity in Oregon
• Oregon has a disproportionately high childhood
obesity rate: According to one study, Oregon has
the 32nd highest adult obesity rate in the
country, but the 7th highest overweight level for
low-income children.
• According to another study, 31% of low-income
children between 2 and 5 years of age in
Oregon are overweight or at risk of becoming
overweight .
• Only 18 states limit the availability of competitive
food in schools beyond federal requirementsOregon is not one of them.
Kill your TV
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Today the average American child
spends 900 hours per year in
school and 1,023 hours per year
in front of a TV.
Children in America watch
approximately 4 hours of TV a
day. TV has largely replaced
physical activity, reading and
socializing.
While watching TV, children’s
metabolism slows down
significantly.
While watching TV, children are
significantly more likely to be
snacking.
While watching TV, children are
constantly bombarded by
advertising for unhealthy foods.
Other causes of childhood obesity
Children are exposed to unhealthy foods
to a much greater degree: Many public
high schools now have lucrative deals
with fast food companies that allow the
companies to set up franchises inside
the schools.
Funding for Physical Education has been
drastically cut in the last few decades.
In fact, in some states (Oklahoma and
South Dakota) there are no physical
education requirements for primary
and secondary schools.
Change in family structure: It is now quite
common for both parents to work full
time, and often parents simply don’t
have the time to make home cooked
meals on a regular basis.
Refusal to recognize problem: 8% of
parents with obese children actually
think that their child is underweight.
What is being done?
• CDC and US Department
of Health launched the
VERB campaign to
encourage “tweens”
(people aged 9-13) to be
physically active every
day.
• This campaign aims to
make regular physical
activity seem “cool” and is
unique because it uses
paid advertising and
marketing strategies.
What is being done?
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In 2004, the childhood obesity reduction act was introduced by Oregon
senator Ron Wyden. This act aims to provide a website to help parents and
teachers learn about different successful exercise and nutrition programs. It
would also provide funding for these successful programs, focusing on
areas of the country with high rates of obesity and overweight.
17 states and DC have enacted snack and soda taxes, in an attempt to
discourage the consumption of food low in nutrients
Salem Hospital has recently opened a Salem chapter of Committed to Kids,
a national weight-management program that teaches habits of healthy living
to obese children and their parents.
“Oregon legislators are developing bills for the 2005 session that would
mandate daily physical education in kindergarten through eighth grade, ban
vending machines, require reporting of students’ obesity status and apply
tougher nutrition standards to food in cafeterias. A physical education bill
would mandate up to 225 minutes a week in middle schools, with at least
half in moderate to vigorous physical activity. That’s roughly twice as much
as what most schools provide.”
What is being done?
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Health Promotion and chronic
disease prevention program:
Walk to school- encourages kids
to walk and bike to school.
5 a day- Encourages Oregonians
to increase vegetable and fruit
servings to 5-9 a day.
Safe routes to school: Encourages
Walk to School program by
establishing safe routes for kids to
take to school.
“TV Turnoff” program: Designed to
encourage Americans to watch
less TV and spend more time
exercising, reading and bonding
with family members.
What is being done?
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In 2003, the Oregon Health and
Sciences University sponsored a
“town hall” style meeting for
Oregonians to discuss solutions to
Oregon’s sky-rocketing rates of
obesity and overweight.
In 2004, the Oregon Medical
Association adopted a policy on
addressing the obesity epidemic.
The policy aims to increase public
awareness or the epidemic and
the health problems associated
with it, educate the public in
treating a preventing the epidemic,
encourage doctors to pay more
attention to obesity and
overweight, and encourage
programs aimed at increasing
physical activity.
My experiences
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The Bush school is a public
elementary school located in
downtown Salem.
I have spent most of my time
mentoring on particular 4th grade
student, but have also helped out
in other classrooms.
3 factors that could lead one to
reasonably assume that obesity
rates might be higher than
average: it’s in Oregon, children
are generally from low-income
families, and there is a relatively
high percentage of Mexican
American students, a group who
has been demonstrated to be
significantly more at risk.
My experiences
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Since the national childhood
obesity rate should be just over
16% by now, and since childhood
obesity in Oregon has been
significantly higher than the
national average, I would have
figured, based purely on my
research, that I could reasonably
expect the percentage of obese or
overweight children to be
somewhere between 17% 19%
However, in my time spent in the
after-school BOOST program with
three different classes of about 12
children each, I only noticed 5
children that seemed to be
significantly overweight, or roughly
13%.
My experiences
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Reasons for children in BOOST
program to have lower than expected
rates of obesity or overweight:
The BOOST program provides
children with snacks that seem to be
relatively healthy- often vegetables or
fruit or crackers and juice.
The BOOST program encourages
physical activity by having 30 minutes
of mandatory outside time for every 2
hour session, during which literally
every child that I observed was
participating in some kind of athletic
activity.
The BOOST program is conducted
during hours when the majority of
American children are watching TV
and snacking (immediately after
school: 3-5 PM).