Hawaii is among the top five states with the lowest obesity rate, but the condition continues to pervade the community, a new study shows.
The report, "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future," found that obesity in Hawaii continues to rapidly increase consistent with national trends and that more than half of Hawaii’s adults will be obese by 2030. The report was released this week by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,
"While Hawaii has a lower obesity and chronic disease rate relative to many other jurisdictions, our state is following the same troubling path as the rest of the nation," Loretta Fuddy, director of the state Department of Health, said in a news release. "Nearly one-quarter of Hawaii adults are obese, and some population groups have much higher rates. Obesity is an epidemic and we cannot afford to sit back idly on this issue."
Hawaii ranked 47th lowest for adult obesity among the states and Washington, D.C., with 23.6 percent of adults last year with excess body fat that could have an adverse effect on health and life expectancy. Obesity among adults in the islands has increased nearly three times from what it was more than 20 years ago, according to the Health Department. In the past year, the condition has risen more than 7 percent and childhood obesity is growing at an even higher rate: 13.2 percent in 2011.
In addition, there are significant disparities in obesity rates among ethnic groups, with higher rates among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander populations. In 2011, 40.8 percent of Native Hawaiian adults were obese.
What’s more, the proportion of adults who are morbidly, or excessively, obese also is on the rise, the Health Department said. There were 30,000 morbidly obese adults in Hawaii in 2011 — roughly 3 percent of the population.
Nationally, 13 states had obesity rates above 30 percent and 41 states had rates of at least 25 percent, largely attributed to physical inactivity and unhealthy eating.
"Obesity is costly to our state and can lead to diabetes and other chronic conditions later in life," the Health Department said.
The state spends an estimated $470 million annually on obesity-related medical costs, and $770 million on costs associated with diabetes, a condition linked with being overweight.
An estimated 82 percent of adults in Hawaii have at least one chronic disease, while more than half have two or more and 31.5 percent have three or more, the Health Department said.
"Obesity affects every part of the body," said Dr. Cedric Lorenzo, medical director of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery at Queen’s Medical Center, and assistant professor of surgery at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. "Diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure and eventually premature death are rooted in obesity. Obesity and the diseases it brings on will certainly have a negative impact on not only the health of Hawaii’s people but also everyone’s pocketbooks. This affects all of us."
The Health Department has released the Hawaii Physical Activity and Nutrition Plan 2013-2020, which includes strategies designed to curb the obesity epidemic: health.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/DOH_PAN2020_LO.pdf.
