Obesity Rate in Hawaii is Going Down

 

Guest Blogger: Grace Henscheid, Grassroots Advocacy Director

In early September the State of Obesity Report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust of America’s Health was released and it held good news for people living in Hawaii.

While there are many statistics in the report the one that stood out to us was the percent of the population that is obese. While the number is still higher than we would like it to be the report showed good news - Hawaii’s obesity rate is going down.  In 2013 the obesity rate in Hawaii was 21.8% down from 23.1% in 2010. While this decrease is good news we still need to do more to make our state a healthier place.

In order to continue lowering this number we need to build communities that encourage healthy eating and active lifestyles. One of the programs the American Heart Association offers for free to people that are trying to improve their health is the “Life’s Simple 7” program. This program helps participants to manage heart risk by understanding the importance of getting active, controlling cholesterol, eating better, managing blood pressure, losing weight, reducing blood sugar and stopping smoking.

In addition to this program the AHA is working in our communities to educate people about their risk factors and how they can take personal control over their health. We are also working to build healthier communities by passing heart-healthy state and local legislation.

The news about Hawaii’s obesity rate declining is great news and we believe with help from advocates like you we believe we can decrease it even more.

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