The Obesity Rate in Arizona is Still too High

 

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 is clear there is still much work to be done in our fight against obesity.

While there are many statistics in the report, one of the numbers that stood out to us was the obesity rate in Arizona. In 2013, Arizona ranked the 34th highest obesity rate in the nation with an adult obesity rate of 26.8%.

While Arizona is middle of the road nationally, when we compare apples to apples, Arizona’s obesity rate in 1990 was roughly 10.6%, showing a 16.2% increase over the last 24 years.  Illustrating the need to continue building 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 health 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.

While the news about Arizona’s obesity rate is encouraging we now need to take the next step and work to decrease the obesity rate. With help from advocates like you we believe it is a battle we can win.  If you are interested in seeing how you can get involved, please contact Josh Brown at [email protected].

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