Weight problem

With access to health care diminishing, an upward trend in obesity puts North Carolina on a precarious path

What you probably suspected while standing in line for fried candy bars at the State Fair is true. Tar Heels are getting tubbier.

In a newly released comparison with the other 49 states, a full percentage-point climb in the adult obesity rate makes North Carolina the nation's 14th fattest state. With nearly 26 percent of adults obese and 37 percent overweight, it's time to put this trend in reverse.

Excess weight leads to chronic disease, a risk that's not acceptable when medical care is becoming less and less affordable. The state Medicaid program has been helping people on the margins, but the program is strained financially. For that matter, so is the entire health care system. State leaders have set a worthy goal of stopping the increase in obesity within five years. It's a start.

As the Trust for America's Health reported this week, the problem isn't confined to North Carolina. Even the leanest state, Colorado, has 18 percent of its residents falling into the obese category. Obesity is defined as 20 percent heavier than the maximum healthy weight for a particular height and frame.

Yet, there's no consolation in sharing our growing girth with people in other states, particularly in view of the increases seen here. And the statistics point to still more trouble ahead. Nearly a third of Tar Heel children are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.

With fewer than half getting less than a minimum level of physical activity, kids are taking a cue from adults. Almost a quarter of Tar Heel adults get no exercise whatsoever.

If for no other reason than setting a better example for the young, we've got to do better. But other reasons are plentiful, starting with the health problems North Carolinians are bringing on themselves with excess pounds.

Already, the state has the eighth highest rate of weight-related diabetes, a disease with a fiendish list of complications including blindness and stroke. The cost of controlling the complications of diabetes, alone, runs into the billions every year.

Increasingly, employers are dropping health benefits they can no longer afford. The president of one small company, Claude Pope Jr. of GetitQuick.com, told a panel of legislators last week that health care costs had jumped 600 percent in a decade, a burden his employees have been asked to share. A $4,000 annual deductible undoubtedly has reduced access to health care for some.

North Carolina, and the rest of the country for that matter, must improve people's access to health care. Preventing disease, in the interim, only makes sense.

The strength of the state's plan, announced Tuesday, lies in the specific goals it sets. Reducing by 25 percent the number of children eating fast food three or more times a week is a concrete objective that is useful to parents. A goal of building 30 minutes of physical activity into their own day is another. Find more on the state's Website: www.eatsmartmovemorenc.com.

North Carolina has made a reasonable start, but there's no time to waste. Until obesity levels off, state leaders ought to plan on ramping up this program.