kstateCHI.org > Projects > Healthy Eating and Physical Activity

Healthy Eating and Physical Activity

(a long-term intended outcome, work group, and program)

Contributors to the Community Health Institute’s work on healthy eating and physical activity will focus on the patterns, influences, and promotion of these health behaviors among youth, adults, and older adults.

Kansas ranks 29th among 50 states and the District of Columbia for the prevalence of obesity among U.S. adults. (Year 2000 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) With this ranking, there is plenty of room for improvement.

Kansas falls in the West North Central region, comprised of Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. The region ranks six of nine in prevalence of obesity in adults.

According to the CDC, “An obesity epidemic within the U.S. population is vividly portrayed by the fact that in 1991, only 4 of 45 participating states had obesity rates of 15 to 19 percent and none had rates greater than 20 percent. By the year 2000, all of the 50 states except Colorado had rates of 15 percent or greater, with 22 of the 50 states having obesity rates as high as 20 percent or greater.”

Increasing physical activity is critical to reversing the epidemic of obesity. We Kansans face the challenge of improving our statistics. Only 22% of adult Kansans report achieving recommended physical activity levels. The staggering 78% of Kansans who do not get enough physical activity are comprised of 48% who report insufficient levels of physical activity and 30% who report no physical activity.

National health-related organizations are urging Americans to eat less fat, especially saturated fat, and to eat more fruits and vegetables. They are basing their recommendations on mounting evidence that indicates that nutrition plays an important role in preventing chronic disease. Researchers have extensively studied links between diet and the two major causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Eating a healthy diet also fits as a way to combat overweight and obesity trends. According to CDC data, in the year 2000 only 23% of Kansans reported eating, on average, the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily. So, on the whole, 77% of Kansans should eat more fruits and vegetables.

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