Blue Cross Blue Shield Vermont: Supersized: The problem of Obesity

Supersized: The Problem of Obesity

By Kristen Bergeron

Vermont, like the rest of the country, is experiencing an increase in obesity. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont and The Vermont Health Plan addressed the problem at a recent community symposium of the same name. Three guest speakers gave the audience facts and figures to consider about obesity around the state.

Jan K. Carney, M.D., M.P.H., Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health, reminded the audience that being overweight can be dangerous. It increases your risk of high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, certain cancers, heart disease and strokes. About 53% (226,615) of adults in Vermont are obese or overweight and a surprising 23% (7,110) of youths in grades 8 to 12 are overweight or close to it.

To achieve a healthy weight, Carney recommends a balanced, reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.

To help people take the right steps to becoming healthy, the US Department of Health and Human Services created the 2000 Dietary Guidelines for Americans:

Aim for fitness, aim for a healthy weight and be physically active each day
Choose a variety of grains daily, especially whole grains
Choose and prepare foods with less salt
Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables daily
Select fresh, frozen, dried and canned products to obtain five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily
Maintain a diet with no more than 30% of calories from any type of fat

These are simple steps to better your health. It may take a little readjusting, but it is worth it. Once you begin eating well and adding physical activity to your schedule, it will become routine, you will feel better, and your overall health will improve, Carney said.

The second guest speaker agreed. Jean Harvey-Berino, Ph.D., from the M.P.H. Behavioral Weight Control Research Program at the University of Vermont, talked about the effectiveness of different diets and reported her findings on diet and weight-loss.

“A successful weight-loss intervention always incorporates diet, exercise and behavior modification techniques,” she said. In addition, she said that people losing weight often find increased benefits from extended contact, social support and self-monitoring.

If you do not have this treatment available to you, it is important to keep self-motivated while you are losing weight. Remaining positive and sticking with your healthy eating habits and regular exercise will keep you on the right track.

The final speaker, Melinda S. Sothern Ph.D., C.E.P., director, Prevention of Childhood Obesity Laboratory at Louisiana State University Pennington Biomedical Research center in Baton Rouge Louisiana, focused on childhood obesity, its potential causes, and suggestions for improved health in children.

Sothern, the author of the book Trim Kids, noted that children in the United States watch an average of 20 to 30 hours of television a week. Technological advances like television, computers and videogames have caused physical activity in children to decrease drastically. Before technology, children would spend their free time playing outdoors or doing chores around the house. Now many children come home from school and plop down in front of the television or computer with a snack for the duration of the evening. Less physical activity results in fewer calories being burned and more weight being put on.

In addition, Sothern says, children are not eating healthy snacks or meals. About 57% of Americans eat away from home every day, and 1/3 of those eating out go to fast food restaurants. This means that parents are not cooking as much, so children are not getting healthy home-cooked meals. Instead the family may opt for a trip for fast food.

Sothern gave the following hints on helping obese children:

Limit television to less than two hours per week
Incorporate activity into usual daily routines (for example, encourage them to walk to school)
Promote outdoor play and sports

-- Playing hopscotch burns 300 calories per hour
-- Riding a scooter burns 375 calories per hour
-- Jumping on a pogo stick burns 350 calories per hour
-- Playing Nerf basketball burns 250 calories per hour

Prepare well-balanced meals and give rewards for eating well
Eliminate high-calorie snacks
Present the food in a way that will make children want to eat it (use small portions; they can always go back for more if they are still hungry)

Vermonters need to promote healthy eating and physical activity for our children and for adults too. The practice of exercising and eating well not only improves our health and decreases our risks for certain diseases; it also improves our overall quality of life. For more information about the problem of obesity, visit the www.bcbsvt.com website. We have posted the PowerPoint presentations from the 2002 BCBSVT symposium here.