Obesity Is A Serious Problem For Ohio Youth: Study

Ohio has the sixth highest rate of youth obesity in the nation, a new study has found. More than 18.5 percent of young people, ages 10 to 17, are obese in the Buckeye State. Black and Hispanic youth are at an even greater risk for obesity than their white counterparts.

“Childhood obesity continues to be major public health challenge, with significant financial and societal implications,” said Jamie Bussel, senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, who conducted the study.

Ohio's youth obesity rate is the second-highest in the so-called Rust Belt, behind only Kentucky. Neighboring states like Michigan and Pennsylvania had lower obesity rates among their youth. Ohioans are getting diabetes, hypertension, and other obesity-related illnesses at a rate higher than most of the rest of the nation.

Those conditions could be prevented.

“Far too many young people in this country are facing increased chances of diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, all due to a preventable condition. And black and Latino youth are still more likely than their white peers to face these problems. We must help all children grow up at a healthy weight, so they can lead healthy lives, and save the nation billions in healthcare costs,” Bussel added.

Nationally, black youth had nearly the double rate of obesity, 22.5 percent, as white youth, 12.5 percent, did. In Ohio, more than a quarter of black youth, 25.7 percent, are obese. As adults, that number jumps again. In the Buckeye State, more than 37 percent of black adults are likely to be obese.

The trends toward higher levels of obesity in America are troubling. Some scientists have predicted that more than half of children in the U.S. will be obese by the age of 35.

What Ohio Does Differently

The Foundation studied the health policies of every state and found a bevy of easily implementable laws and practices that could impact Ohio's youth obesity rate. For one, physical education is not a required class at the elementary or middle school level.

In addition, only about a quarter of Ohio schools employ so-called "farm-to-table" practices, which see local agricultural products given to school children. Employing these practice could reduce over-reliance on unhealthy snacks and meals.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation also found that about 22 percent of Ohio children live in homes where there is a lack of food. These children are called "food insecure," because the guarantee of a next meal is not a secure guarantee.

About 16 percent of the whole Ohio population is food insecure, the Foundation found.

The organization argues that to reduce the number of hungry people, states should increase support to programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation studied the 2016 and 2017 National Survey of Children's Health, and conducted analysis with the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau. They found that Utah's youth had the lowest obesity rate, at 8.7 percent. Mississippi had the highest obesity rate among youth, 26.7 percent. Ohio was sixth in the nation.

To see the full analysis of Ohio's obesity rate, click here.

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