Obesity

Indicator Definition
Percentage of adults (ages 18 to 64 years) who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30. BMI is a number based on a person's weight and height. For most adults, BMI correlates with body fat. BMI may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who are muscular and underestimate body fat in older persons or those who have lost muscle mass.

Adult obesity in Colorado5

Adult obesity by income in Colorado6

Indicator Significance
Obesity is a serious public health problem involving environmental, genetic, physiological, metabolic, behavioral and psychological aspects. Diseases resulting from obesity are among the leading causes of death in the United States. Since 1980, obesity rates for adults in the United States have more than doubled. More than one-third of U.S. adults—more than 72 million people—and 17 percent of children are obese.¹ Rates of obesity have increased for all adult age groups and across all regions of the United States, with blacks and Hispanics particularly at risk.² Obesity also contributes to rising medical costs. In 2006, obese Americans had medical costs that were $1,400 higher than those for normal weight people. This resulted in approximately $147 billion in related medical expenditures in 2008.³

Colorado Specifics
Colorado is the leanest state in the country, but adult obesity rates are climbing here at a faster rate than in the country as a whole. The adult obesity rate has more than doubled in Colorado since 1995. While obesity rates are higher for low-income Coloradans, even those in higher-income brackets who can most afford a healthy lifestyle exceed recommended levels.

Promising Initiative
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Colorado Physical Activity and Nutrition Program (COPAN) strives to prevent obesity and its associated diseases through broad-based initiatives that promote healthy exercise and eating. The COPAN Coalition has more than 450 public and private partners, including government, public health and transportation officials, and local planners. The coalition designs, implements and evaluates state-level obesity initiatives.

The COPAN's Active Community Environment Task Force (ACE) aims to increase physical activity in Coloradans' daily routines by evaluating and improving community infrastructure to create exercise-conducive neighborhoods. ACE activities also include educational workshops and an annual active living conference. The LiveWell Wheat Ridge ACE in 2010 helped establish a new recreation center that offers comprehensive exercise activities such as yoga, tai chi, swimming and dance.⁴

Adult obesity⁷

Color coding: Statistical tests were used to determine if the average for Colorado was significantly different than the averages for other states. States with a medium shade of orange had averages that were not statistically different from Colorado's average and states colored in a light shade of orange had averages that were statistically different from Colorado's average.

Text

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, "Obesity: Halting the Epidemic by Making Health Easier," 2011.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Differences in Prevalence of Obesity Among Black, White and Hispanic Adults, 2006–2008."
3. Finkelstein, E, et al., "Annual medical spending attributable to obesity: Payer and service-specific estimates." Health Affairs, Vol. 28 (5), 2009.
4. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado Physical Activity and Nutrition Program, Active Community Environments.
   
   LiveWell Wheat Ridge.

Charts

5. Source: Colorado Health Institute analysis of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003-2010.
6. Source: Colorado Health Institute analysis of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010.
7. Source: Colorado Health Institute analysis of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010.