8th Annual Southern obesity summit scheduled for October

29th September 2014   ·   0 Comments

By Rosemary Eng
Contributing Writer

(Special from The NorthStar News & Analysis) — For big problems, like obesity in Ameri­ca, solutions can come in small steps like the “walking school bus.”

Walking to school has always been good exercise for kids but now it’s not as safe as it once was. Parents throughout the United States are discovering if they lead walks to school and pick up kids along the way, walking to school can make a comeback.

Simple programs like this as well as major government policy on obesity will be on the agenda at the 8th annual Southern Obesity Summit October 5-7 in Louisville, Ky.

Michelle Smith, Texas-based director of the Southern Obesity Prevention Strategy & Summit, said some 350 participants, from government, health institutions and academia are expected to learn new anti-obesity strategies and report on the progress of ongoing programs. List of attendees.

Participants this year might consider recruiting mayors to lead some “walking school buses” to gain community attention for this program. They could discuss how to find funding to improve sidewalks and street lighting.

The obesity strategy and summit was organized around states in the South because statistics last year show the South has the highest obesity rate (30.2%), followed by the Midwest (30.1%), the Northeast (26.5%), and the West (24.9%).

The most obese are African-American women over age 20, with a rate of 57.6 per cent, compared with 37.9 per cent in African-American men over age 20.

States with 25 to 30 percent of self-reported obesity: Virginia, North Carolina, Florida

States with 30 to 35 percent self-reported obesity: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisi­ana, Arkansas, Alabama, Mis­souri, Georgia, Tennessee, Ken­tucky and South Carolina.

States with 35% or more self-reported obesity: Mississippi, West Virginia

The Summit has been emphasizing fitness and health for children. Tackling obesity in children needs to be a community-wide effort, as in the case of the “walking school bus,” Smith says.

The obesity summits describe the disparities between ethnic groups and incidents of obesity. The recent article in the online magazine Salon recounts how youth living near trails and forests reported a high level of physical activity. However, this was not the case in poorer neighborhoods because residents were often afraid to use parks and trails because of high crime rates.

Healthy children have stronger learning capabilities, and community support is a necessary ingredient for raising healthy children, according to the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child report, a joint effort between the ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) and the CDC.

This article originally published in the September 29, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.