Lynchburg Business

Fighting the Trend: How to Reduce Our Obesity Rate

Issue: June 2010 by Jan Walker in Healthcare

Americans are getting fatter by the minute. Despite concerns about obesity raised by health care professionals, employers and the government, U.S. obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions, with 26.5 percent of American adults considered obese in 2009, up 1 percent from 2008.

Lynchburg is no exception. In a March 2010 study released by Gallup and Healthways, Lynchburg was ranked the 7^th among the “10 Most Obese Metro Areas in the U.S.” with 33 percent of the population considered obese. Results were based on telephone interviews with more than 353,000 American adults, aged 18 and older, conducted from January through the end of December 2009.

Clearly, obesity is a threat to the nation’s health and our health here at home, both personally and professionally. Having too much body fat puts people at risk for serious illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and some forms of cancer. The resulting health care cost is high—estimated as much as $147 billion annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Excess body fat means higher health care expenses for businesses, with medical costs for obese employees weighing in at 42 percent more than for people who have a healthy body mass index. Obesity also translates into a high price tag for business and industry in the cost of absenteeism and lost productivity.

So, why are approximately 58 million Americans overweight and 40 million obese?

“Three reasons: inactivity, poor dietary habits and supersized portions,” said Rebecah Hunt, R.N., clinical administrator, cardiovascular wellness and prevention, with Centra. “Technology and automated processes, such as drive-through pharmacies, banking, fast food restaurants, mean that our activity level is way below what it needs to be to burn the calories that most Americans consume on an average day.”

In addition, studies show that portion sizes at home and in restaurants have doubled and tripled since the 1960s. For example, in 1960, a homemade sandwich consisted of two slices of bread and one slice of bologna, equaling approximately 380 calories. Today’s supersized sandwich with all the fixings has grown to 820 calories. The 1960s 12-ounce bottle of soda is now a 24-ounce drink with double the calories.

“Processed and fast food are readily available, inexpensive and don’t require effort,” she continued. “They are high in fat and sugar. Unlike whole food that takes two to three hours to digest, processed food—almost any food we buy in a box—immediately turns to sugar.”

To combat obesity, people need to make better choices, said Hunt, who offered the following healthy lifestyle tips:

• Set aside a time each week to plan healthy meals that you can fix quickly at home.
• Plan and have healthy snacks on hand, such as a mix of salt-free nuts, plain or multigrain cereal, dried fruit and dark chocolate or an apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter.
• Shop the perimeter of the grocery store and avoid the center aisles with the processed food.
• Buy lean beef, organic, low-steroid chicken, fatty fish and shellfish. Try to eat fish three times a week and beef no more than twice a week.
• Bring home fruits and vegetables. The deeper the color, the higher the nutrition.
• Become knowledgeable about and compare food labels.
• Find the right time of day to exercise and be consistent. Hit or miss is ineffective when it comes to weight management.

Employers can also help combat obesity and increase their bottom line by offering comprehensive wellness programs at the workplace. For example, Centra offers wellness programs to the public and employers in the community (see sidebar), sponsors lunchtime Weight Watchers classes and recently began a wellness program for Centra employees associated with its medical plan.

Through a partnership with LivingWell, Centra offers a voluntary program that includes an initial risk assessment, which will be followed with a confidential, personalized report with recommendations that employees can use to improve their health. LivingWell projects that nearly 70 percent of employees have health risk factors that need medical intervention, and therefore creates action plans for employees who wish to participate.

Additionally, employee clinics staffed by a nurse practitioner will open in July at Centra Lynchburg General, Virginia Baptist and Southside Community hospitals. Employees who participate in Centra’s wellness program will receive financial incentives in their health care insurance premiums, beginning in January 2011. This program includes offering Lunch and Learn sessions on the primary health challenges faced by Centra employees.

In addition to company-wide wellness programs, Hunt offers a few tips to area businesses to help their employees fight obesity:

• Provide vending machines with healthy snack options.
• Offer extended lunch breaks for people to exercise before lunch.
• Offer Lunch and Learn sessions from qualified health professionals.
• Implement a no smoking policy at the workplace.

“People need behavior modification programs to help change their habits,” said Hunt. “Support and accountability will make the difference in the health of employees.”

For more information about community programs to fight obesity, go to www.CentraHealth.com. Employers can find free resources on how to develop wellness programs to address obesity on the CDC website, www.cdc.gov/LEANWorks.