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Stats: Obesity higher in county
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · December 14, 2012
One third of Cedar County residents are obese and one third are inactive.
And those numbers are just going up, according to Live Healthy Iowa statistics shared Dec. 6.
But that’s not just bad, according to the Cedar County Public Health Department, it’s worse than the rest of the state.
Of the 99 counties in Iowa, Cedar County is 67th in healthy behaviors, and has 4 percent more obese adults than the state average.
Further, about 50 percent of adults participate in 30 or more minutes of moderate physical activity five or more days per week, or vigorous physical activity for 20 or more minutes three or more days a week.
John Stevens, Live Healthy Iowa outreach coordinator, said that Iowa could save $5.7 billion by 2030 on health care costs just by lowering the residents’ body mass index by 5 percent.
Representatives from the cities of Tipton and West Branch and West Branch Community Schools met last week for the second time with Public Health’s Kasey Diebold to hear about how to start a countywide coalition to promote better health.
Stevens gave an overview of the program and brought along statistics that also show that less than 1 percent of Cedar County residents are actively promoting a “wellness culture,” making Cedar County 72nd of 99 counties in that regard.
He wants to see it rise to 10 percent, or 1,700 of the county’s 17,000 residents above the age of 5. About 2,700 of those are children in kindergarten through 12th grade.
“If we get 10 percent talking about (wellness) that’s the tipping point,” he said.
Stevens said that the hardest work is getting to that point, but after that, the “wellness culture” begins to spread.
Diebold called together the health coalition interest meeting several weeks ago in Tipton. The next time they meet will likely be in another town, and Stevens encouraged the group to keep moving among the county’s dozen cities to show those cities that the group wants everyone involved.
“It’s nice to move it around,” Tipton City Council member Pam Spear said. “And I think we have a consensus that we want to move forward.”
Stevens said he would leave his schedule open Jan. 3 and 4 — if the group wants him back to give another talk with more detail.
“Every county needs wellness champions,” he said. “You’re fortunate you have people who care.”
About a dozen people turned out last week for the meeting at Hoover Elementary, but Diebold was not discouraged.
“I get e-mails every day (about this),” she said. “People want this to be countywide.”
West Branch School Superintendent Kevin Hatfield said he wants to see the school involved.
“We’ll make this work somehow,” he said, suggesting that the school buildings, especially the gymnasiums, could open in the winter months for walking or other healthy activities.
Stevens said getting cities and schools involved is a good way to find a start-up group of supporters.
He said the group should meet regularly and not only look at the numbers involved, but look at county health statistics and constantly try to improve.
“This (movement) can be contagious,” he said. “We just need to move more.”
Stevens said First Lady Michelle Obama wants to reduce the nationwide obesity rate for children from 30 percent to 5 percent.
“That’s what it was in Iowa in the 1970s,” he said. “Look at yearbooks from year to year and watch as people get fatter.”
He said the average adult sits in front of a screen — TV or computer — six hours a day.
National Park Service Superintendent Pete Swisher said the Hoover Complex is working on a Healthy Parks/Healthy People initiative to begin in January in part for the NPS to prepare for its 100th anniversary in 2016.
The park is creating a map of its trails showing length and walking difficulty, he said, and working with doctors so they can “prescribe” that activity.
West Branch Parks & Recreation Director Melissa Russell said the city recently hosted a Girls On The Run program that proved so successful it may next time open a chapter for boys.
West Branch school nurse Traci Fryauf pointed out that pupils from fifth through 12th grades all have laptops, and it would be easy to download programs that allow them to record minutes of exercise.
“You’re on the right track,” Stevens said. “You’ve got some great ideas.”
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