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Colorado
Remains Lean, but Adding Pounds Fri
Jun 13,11:54 AM ET By DEBORAH MENDEZ, Associated
Press Writer DENVER - Colorado still has bragging
rights as the leanest state in the country. However, things are changing, with
adult obesity more than doubling over the past decade, state health officials
warned. While Colorado's obesity rate of 14.9
percent is the lowest in the country, health experts said the increase is cause
for concern. "Hopefully, it's going to help
people wake up and realize it's a problem," Dr. Marc Cornier, an
endocrinologist at Denver Health Medical Center, said Thursday. Experts say obesity is a critical
health issue because of the serious health effects, including increased risk of
heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, diabetes,
arthritis, sleep apnea and depression. In 1990, 6.9 percent of the adults in
Colorado were obese. In 2001, the latest year for which data is available, that
number more than doubled to 14.9 percent, according to an annual survey of 2,000
residents by the Colorado Department of Public Health (news
- web
sites) and Environment. That means more than 450,000 of the
state's 3.3 million adults are obese. Colorado, whose backcountry amenities
draw outdoor enthusiasts from around the globe, has topped the list of the
country's leanest states for years. By comparison, Mississippi's obesity rate is
26.5 percent, the country's highest. "There's a lot of opportunities
to play in Colorado. It does not surprise me we are the leanest state. It makes
perfect sense," said Douglas H. Benevento, executive director of the health
department. Natalie Hunter, strolling along
downtown Denver's pedestrian mall, agreed that Coloradans are more active than
most people. "I go to Des Moines (Iowa) a lot
for work, and there's a huge difference in outdoor sports," said Hunter,
36. "People there bike and run, but you don't have the aggressive outdoor
sports that Colorado has: mountain climbing, hiking, skiing." But even Coloradans have increasingly
fallen prey to the usual suspect: eating more calories than they burn. "There is too much dietary fat
and too little physical activity," said Dr. Ned Calonge, the state's chief
medical officer. "Permanent, sustainable changes in eating habits, which
involves fewer calories, are required." According to survey results, 4.9
percent of those between 18 and 24 are obese, but the share zooms to 18 percent
of Coloradans age 45 to 54. |