The writer is president and CEO of United HealthCare of North Carolina.

Garland Scott

By GARLAND SCOTT

Obesity is tipping the scales as one of North Carolina’s biggest problems. Over the last 20 years in North Carolina, the percentage of the population that is obese has increased from 12.9 percent to 29.5 percent.

That’s an alarming trend, and it’s playing out in just about every community across the country. In fact, it’s a trend that has catapulted obesity to one of the top health problem facing our state and our nation.

According to the 20th Annual America’s Health Rankings released recently, obesity has increased nearly 130 percent since the rankings were first issued. A whopping 27 percent of the U.S. population is now considered obese. North Carolina now ranks 36th among all the states in obesity.
If current trends continue, nearly 47.9 percent of North Carolinians will be obese within the next decade, costing our state a projected $11.14 billion – or $1,473 per adult – for state health care spending. Most of that spending comes from obesity-related health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

That’s why there is a growing consensus that tackling our obesity epidemic is a critical element of reducing the rates of chronic disease and reining in rising health-care costs.
We have to do more in North Carolina to reduce the prevalence of obesity in our communities. And while it’s important to provide programs and resources for adults, it’s even more critical to focus on breaking the cycle among our youth, among whom the rates of obesity have more than doubled in the last three decades.

Through the UnitedHealth HEROES grant program (a partnership between UnitedHealthcare and the nonprofit Youth Service America), young people, working through educators and youth leaders, are being encouraged to create and implement local hands-on programs to address the issue of childhood obesity. Many applications have come from across North Carolina.

Research has shown that young people who participate in service-learning programs improve their academic performance and critical-thinking skills, increase their confidence and sense of potential, and accept leadership roles. Such programs are a crucial part of the solution to the serious dangers posed by our growing waistlines.

Overweight adolescents have a 70-percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. And overweight children and adolescents are far more likely to have risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes. Experts increasingly agree we must intervene early in life, if we are to reverse the trend in obesity rates in our country.

We should commend the young people in our area who are already making a difference and join them in taking action on this important issue. Our physical health as a community, and our fiscal health as a nation, depends on it.

Find more information about obesity rates in North Carolina, their related health problems, and actions you can take to combat the problem at www.americashealthrankings.org.

Garland Scott is president and CEO of UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina.

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