District kids among country’s most overweight, study finds
By: Maria Schmitt
Special to The Examiner
July 5, 2009
Children in the District are among the most overweight in the nation, according to a study by the Trust for America’s Health.
By the numbers
Most overweight children:
1. Mississippi - 44.4%
2. Arkansas - 37.5%
3. Georgia - 37.3%
9. D.C. - 35.4%
23. Virginia - 31.0%
36. Maryland - 28.8%
Most overweight adults:
1. Mississippi - 32.5%
2. Alabama - 31.2%
3. West Virginia - 31.1%
25. Maryland - 26.0%
28. Virginia - 25.4%
45. D.C. - 22.3%
Source: Trust for America’s Health
In D.C., the study found 35.4 percent of children ages 10 to 17 are overweight. That ranks the nation’s capital as ninth-worst in the country.
“A lot of the speculation is that obesity is due to socioeconomic factors,” Laura Segal, spokeswoman for Trust, told The Examiner. “It has to do with ethnic and economic issues.”
District officials continue to work on the problem. Last year, D.C.’s Department of Health began a plan to help fight childhood obesity. The effort includes increasing neighborhood access to healthy food at grocery stores and increasing physical activity offerings in communities.
“Ward 8 just got a grocery store for the first time in a long time,” Segal said. “There were just lots of fast food and convenience stores, which aren’t nutritious.”
Mayor Adrian Fenty is working to improve nutrition in public schools, Segal said, changing vendors and offering breakfast during class time so that students don’t skip it.
The District does not have set nutritional standards for school meals, competitive foods sold a la carte in schools, or requirements for body mass index screenings for children, the study states.
The study, using data from a survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ranks overweight and obesity rates for children and adults in the 50 states and the District.
Mississippi tops the list as the fattest state in the union: Nearly half of its children and nearly one-third of adults are overweight. Colorado is the least-overweight state, with only 18.9 percent of its adults considered overweight.
“If we’re looking at health reform right now, we need to look at what key things will keep the country healthy and happy,” Segal said.
The standard, per the study: Children with a body mass index, a calculation based on weight and height ratios, at or above the 85th percentile are considered overweight.
