Professional Documents
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the Scales
How fat has become
a weighty problem for North Carolina
Shellie Pfohl
Be Active North Carolina
Be Active North Carolina
A Statewide Initiative to
Increase Physical Activity
Just imagine…
• An ideal world
where everyone
would be in good
health.
• They’d be at a
healthy weight,
energetic, engaged
in healthy habits,
resistant to disease,
and active.
Of course in reality…
• Too many North Carolinians
suffer from ill-health or have
health and lifestyle habits that
predispose them to a host of
diseases.
• Tragically, even children are
experiencing diseases and
conditions historically have
been associated with
middle- or old-age.
Ask yourself……
• How can your county, NC and the USA
compete in a global economy with our current
trend in health care costs?
• Why would companies want to employ
Americans if they can get the same or better
quality products/services overseas for a tenth
of the cost?
• How does this impact health, health care,
education, economy in America/NC/county?
• How can we get NC moving in the right
direction?
Things to Consider…
• You know the ‘human’ cost of unhealthy
lifestyles from your CHA, BRFSS, etc.
• But how does this impact your
economy, healthcare costs, jobs….?
• Funders, sponsors, policy-makers care
about the ‘bottom line’
• Have to make the connection between
your ‘health’ data and ‘economic’ data
Need to answer….
• Why should we have more PE in
schools?
• Why do we need more bike lanes and
multi-use trails?
• Why do we need policies for healthy
snacks in vending machines?
• Why do we need safe routes to
schools? …… Focus on ECONOMY
Our study found that…
• Too few North Carolinians
are taking steps to improve
their health habits and
lifestyles.
• And the costs of treating the
diseases and conditions that
often result from their
choices are escalating.
Poor health impacts finances…
• Adults and children who have
one or more of several common
health risk factors cost North
Carolina money — big money.
• Medical treatment, prescription
drug and lost productivity costs
associated with these factors
totaled $XX.XX billion in 2006 for
adults alone.
…and drains resources
• If all our resources are
siphoned off to pay for
these problems, we will
have significantly less
money left for investment
in infrastructure, capital
projects, education and
job creation.
Risk Factors Analyzed
ADULTS YOUTH
• Excess weight • Physical Inactivity
• Physical inactivity • Excess weight
• Type II diabetes
• Diabetes
• Low dietary consumption of
fruits and vegetables
• Hypertension (high blood
pressure)
• Abnormal blood lipid level
(high cholesterol)
• Depression
• Tobacco use
Assessing the
Eight Risk Factors
-Adults-
Excess Weight
• In North Carolina,
62.6 percent of
adults have excess
weight
• Of those, 36.7
percent are
overweight
• And 25.9 percent
considered obese
Physical Inactivity
• 57.9 percent of North Carolina
adults are physically inactive.
• 40.4 percent reported getting
some physical activity, but
less than recommended
• 22 percent reported not being
physical active at all.
Type II Diabetes
• In North Carolina, an estimated 547,000
adults, or approximately 8.5 percent of
the adult population, have been
diagnosed with Type II diabetes.
Nutritional issues
• Statistics show that 77.5 percent of
North Carolina adults eat fewer than
five daily servings of fruit and
vegetables.
Depression
• In North Carolina, 5 percent of adults
report being dissatisfied or very
dissatisfied with life, an indicator of
depression absent a clinical diagnosis.
Abnormal Blood Lipid Level
• In North Carolina, 36.3 percent of North
Carolinians reported having abnormal
blood lipid levels (high cholesterol).
Hypertension
• In North Carolina,
29.2 percent of
adults have been
diagnosed with
hypertension (high
blood pressure).
Tobacco Use
• In North Carolina,
22.6 percent of
all adults smoke
cigarettes
Tracking medical costs
• The eight risk factors
responsible for
$XX.XX billion
• XX cents of every dollar
spent on outpatient or
hospital treatment
resulted from one or
more of the eight risk
factors.
Factoring in drug costs
• In 2006, prescription
drug costs associated
with the eight risk
factors were $X.XX
billion.
• That is an estimated XX
percent of the cost of
outpatient and inpatient
care combined.
Lost workplace productivity
• An employee who is present
but performing below
expectations due to a medical
condition or injury
(presenteeism) can greatly
reduce a company’s output.
• In 2006, the lost productivity
cost owing to the eight risk
factors was $XX.XX billion
Who really pays?
• If, hypothetically, the costs associated
with the eight risk factors were borne
exclusively:
– Taxpayer’s share = $xxxx/year
– Full-time worker = $xxxx/year
– Non-farm worksite = $xxxxx
The Cost of Doing Nothing…
If we accept the status quo, expect the total
cost to rise nearly 32% over the next five
years to $XX.XX
The Good News!
• CHA Data
• State and National Data
• Be Active Economic Study
Using your CHA…
• Do the data from your county indicate
that there is a problem?
– Trends in county
– Compare with state, nation
• What are the implications of these data?
– Economic
Forsyth
• Overweight or Obese – Adult
– Forsyth: 57.4%
– NC: 62.9% (2006)
– US: 60.5%
• Overweight or At-risk – Youth (5-11)
– Forsyth: 18.2%
– NC: 27.3%
– US: 33% (6-11)
Forsyth
The economic cost of unhealthy
lifestyles* among adults in Forsyth
County is nearly $466 million
annually.