D.C.’s adults are slimming down while the rest of the nation fattens up — but the District’s kids are staying chunky.
Only the District of Columbia decreased in adult obesity rates based on three-year rolling averages ending in 2008 and 2009. Twenty-eight states increased and the rest remained statistically stable, according to a report released by the nonprofit Trust for America’s Health.
The District ranked 49th in the nation for adult obesity in 2007-2009, with only Colorado and Connecticut beating out the nation’s capital for the smallest percentage of obese adults.
Washington went from 22.3 percent obese in 2006-2008 to 21.5 percent obese in 2007-2009 — a drop of 0.8 percent.
Nationwide, 34 percent of adults were obese in 2008, and more than two-thirds were obese or overweight.
The study defined obese and overweight in terms of a person’s body mass index.
“[The District’s ranking] is reassuring, and we do celebrate that to some extent,” LaQuandra Nesbitt of the D.C. Department of Health said Tuesday. “The reason that obesity is still a concern for us in the District is the level of disparity. While the average is around 20 percent, there are some communities in the District that are in the 40s.”
The study reported wide variations in adult obesity for ethnic groups. In the District, 34.4 percent of blacks were obese in 2007-2009, compared to 20.6 percent of Latinos and 9 percent of whites.
D.C.’s efforts to open swimming pools, bike lanes and other exercise facilities may have been the key ingredient in the last year’s obesity decrease, said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health.
“Opportunities for physical activity — that makes a difference,” Levi said.
But Washington’s minors don’t measure up to its adults.
The District ranked ninth in the nation for youth obesity for the second year in a row. More than 20 percent of D.C.’s 10-to-17-year-olds are obese.
By the numbers
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Location Age Percentage of population that’s obese (’07-’09) National ranking
D.C. adults 21.5% 49th
D.C. youth 20.1% 9th
Md. adults 26.6% 26th
Md. youth 13.6% 31st
Va. adults 25.5% 32nd
Va. youth 15.2% 31st
The disparity between adult and youth rankings is likely a result of socioeconomic conditions, Levi said. “The demographics of kids in D.C. tend to be poorer,” he said.
The study showed a strong connection between poverty and obesity levels.
Nesbitt said generational cultural differences were probably also a factor.
“Generation X-ers grew up more active,” she said. “Millennials have grown up in front of video games, social networking, all of those things where active living has been diminished,” she said.
