December 23, 2020 – According to reports, more Illinois residents are obese than ever before, mirroring a national trend.
That’s according to a new report from Trust for America’s Health, a non-partisan organization with a stated mission to promote optimal health for every person and community and to make the prevention of illness and injury a national priority. The report found 42.4 percent of adults in the country were obese in 2018, the most recent data available. It’s the first time more than four-in-ten Americans qualified as obese.
“It’s particularly of concern right now,” said Rhea Farberman, director of communications with Trust for America’s Health, “because the data shows that if you are obese and are infected with the COVID-19 virus, you are at higher risk for needing to be
hospitalized and even death.”
The rate among Illinois adults is slightly lower, at 31.6-percent, but that number still is up more than five points over the past decade. Farberman says the number is worse in communities of color, as is typical across the country.
“Within Illinois, your black adult obesity rate is 40.5 percent,” said Farberman. “Your Latino obesity rate is 34.6 percent. That compares to your white residents within the state at 31 percent.”
The report makes clear it’s not just adults who are at risk. In Illinois, more than 14 percent of those aged 10 to 17 are considered obese.
“Those health conditions associated with obesity that we used to only see in adults, doctors are beginning to see in children and teenagers,” Farberman said. “That’s such things as hypertension and high cholesterol.”
She says changing the overall upward trend in the state and across the country is a complex issue that will take the efforts of many different actors.
“We’re going to need many partners to work together to solve the problem,” Farberman said. “We all need to work together. The food industry has a role. Schools have a role. Government has a role, and each individual has a role as well.”
The report lays out potential action to reverse the trend, including increasing the amount spent on obesity prevention programs.
“We need to make sure that nutrition support programs are generous enough so the person doing the shopping for the family can make nutritious food choices and put nutritious food on the table,” Farberman said. “Unfortunately, less expensive food is
often food that’s high in calories and low in nutritional value.”
The report points out that obesity is associated with many serious health concerns. Those include diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and some forms of cancer.
“If we increase our investment in obesity prevention programs, we can save money on health care that is associated with obesity,” Farberman said.
According to the report, Mississippi and West Virginia have the highest rates of adult obesity in the country, while Colorado has the lowest.
