KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - This morning, the King County Board of Health, the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and Public Health - Seattle & King County brought together approximately 200 participants from around the county to address one of the most serious health problems facing the local community: overweight and obesity.
Spurred to action by clear evidence of this significant threat to the community’s health, organizers of the symposium sought to develop an action agenda focusing on strategies to increase:
- physical activities for adults
- physical activity opportunities for children
- community assets, such as land use, that promote physical activity
- access to healthy food for adults
- access to healthy food for children, including promoting breastfeeding.
“Obesity is a national problem, but the solution requires local ideas, engagement and commitment,” said King County Board of Health Chair and King County Councilmember Carolyn Edmonds. “Representatives from diverse corners of our community have committed to begin this coordinated effort in pursuit of reducing overweight and obesity and fostering healthier and longer lives.”
The symposium, titled “Overweight prevention symposium: A strategic action agenda” and held at the Shoreline Conference Center, was attended by policy makers, public health and health care professionals, school representatives, researchers, and representatives from the food industry, other businesses, and the media.
"Our traditional approach to weight control has been to tell people to choose foods wisely and be physically active,” said Dr. Donna Johnson, Associate Director of the University of Washington Center for Public Health Nutrition. “It is time to go one step further and support King County residents as they try to build healthy lifestyles by making sure that we have access to healthy foods and opportunities to be physically active at home, school and work."
“Turning the tide of this epidemic is a public health priority,” said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County. "Unhealthy weight is the second leading cause of preventable death, after tobacco use, and its negative impact on the length and quality of life of our residents continues to grow.”
Unhealthy weight increases the risk of a wide range of life-threatening and disabling health conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
In King County:
- more than one in every two King County residents (53%) was overweight or obese in 2003. In 1987, 37% of the population was overweight or obese
- between 1987 and 2003, obesity more than doubled, from 7% to 18%
- Obesity and overweight rates are highest in south King County (24% and 62%, respectively)
The reasons for this rise in overweight and obesity are complex. Decreasing physical activity, increasing food intake, and changes in the surrounding environment that promote less healthy behaviors have all played a part in this rise.
“To meet the challenge, we are collectively developing strategies that not only encourage healthy behavior choices but also create and foster environments that support healthier living,” said Plough.
Symposium speakers included:
- Board of Health Chair Edmonds and Public Health Director Plough
- Dr. Deborah Galuska, Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Dr. Adam Drewnowski, Nutritional Science Program, University of Washington
- Dr. Larry Frank, School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia
- Dr. Abigail Halperin, Departments of Family Medicine and Health Services, University of Washington, and Tobacco Studies in Public Health & Tobacco Scholars Program, UW School of Public Health & Community Medicine
- emerging best practices related to overweight and obesity prevention
- how the environment influences individual decision-making related to weight
- the relationships between neighborhood walkability, income levels and overweight, with particular focus on King County neighborhoods
- lessons learned during 40 years of effort to reduce the prevalence of smoking and tobacco-related morbidity and mortality
During the symposium, all participants took part in break out sessions and contributed to the drafting of the action agenda.
The goal of the three main organizers (King County Board of Health, the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and Public Health - Seattle & King County) is to identify community strategies and work together to make healthy lifestyles easier to attain in local communities. Participants will reconvene twice a year in order to continue to make significant progress in locally addressing overweight and obesity.
Healthy Eating for Lifetime
