Role of Public Health Leadership in Preventing Obesity

In 2009 the Institute of Medicine released its ‘Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity' report. Cited among its findings was the disturbing possibility that the prevalence of childhood obesity was so high in the United States that it may reduce the life expectancy of today's generation of children. The ‘F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2010' report from the Trust for America's Health named Illinois as the nation's 26th most obese state and ranked fourth for childhood obesity. The report also highlights troubling racial and ethnic disparities in obesity rates. In Illinois adult obesity rates for Blacks and Latinos were higher than for Whites. The adult obesity rate was 35.5 percent among Blacks and 30.6 percent among Latinos, compared with 25.3 percent among Whites. 20.7 percent of children were obese in the state. Chicago-specific data shows that while the prevalence of obesity nationally for children 2-5 years of age was about 10%, for those 3-7 years of age in Chicago it was 22%.

According to the IOM report “If local government officials were asked to describe their vision of what a healthy community looks like, they would probably cite many similar characteristics: effective and active schools; safe neighborhoods; clean parks and public spaces; and readily accessible services such as playgrounds, recreational facilities, libraries, and grocery stores.”

This session will focus on how Illinois which has received CDC funding at the state and local levels is working to combat obesity and reduce the burden of chronic disease.