Napa County also stood out as having one of the highest diabetes rates in the Bay Area. The study uses 2007 data — the most recent information available— from the so-called California Health Interview Survey, which has been conducted every other year beginning in 2001, said Susan Babey, a co-author of the UCLA study. More than 28 percent of Napa County’s population was obese in 2007, compared to between 25 percent and 29 percent in 2001, the study shows. When it comes to diabetes, 9.2 percent of Napa County residents had the illness in 2007, compared to at least 9 percent in 2001, according to the data.
The Napa County obesity rate of 28.6 percent was nearly three times higher than San Francisco’s 11.8 percent rate, the lowest in the Bay Area.
Among the nine Bay Area counties, only Solano County had a higher 2007 diabetes rate — 9.4 percent.
Babey said certain demographic risk factors make some people more likely than others to be on the losing side of the battle against obesity and diabetes.
“The prevalence of both obesity and diabetes were particularly high for low-income people, especially people with incomes below the poverty line,” she said.
These health epidemics hit Latino, black and less-educated people the hardest, Babey said.
Marin and San Francisco counties, which have some of the state’s lowest rates of obesity and diabetes, are among the wealthiest, according to study findings.
The 2008 median household incomes for Marin and San Francisco were $89,909 and $73,127, respectively, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The figure for Napa County was $64,829.
Babey said poorer neighborhoods with more convenience stores and fast food restaurants than farmers markets and supermarkets can keep some healthy food choices out of reach.
“If you boil it down, obesity results from consuming more calories than we expend … which sounds simple but really isn’t, because the things that we eat and the amount of physical activity we get are both influenced by the choices that we have available to us,” Babey said.
Cutting out or cutting down on soda is one of the easiest ways a person can reduce his or her obesity and diabetes risk, Babey said.“Increased sugar consumption has been linked to diabetes in an number of studies,” she said.
County Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith said the study data “may be a less accurate reflection of the countywide situation because of the small sample size” of its random telephone survey.
But Napa County — like the rest of the nation — is battling rising obesity rates and the condition’s many complications, she said.
“As is true elsewhere, these health issues are not evenly distributed across the county,” Smith said in an e-mail. “Instead, Latinos and our poorest residents are disproportionately affected.”
Smith said Napa County Public Health is working to find ways to help stem the obesity epidemic.
“Obesity is a complicated health and social issue that will require a multi-faceted approach that incorporates changes in individual behavior as well as changes in the way we live,” she said.
Obesity in adults is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as something with a Body Mass Index of 30 or higher. Body Mass Index (BMI) is calculated from a person’s height and weight. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight.
Babey said plans are in the works at the federal level to offer incentives to grocery stores to expand into low-income neighborhoods — a move that would theoretically boost access to foods like fresh fruits and vegetables.
Overweight and obese people are more likely to suffer from a myriad of health problems, including high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers, Smith said. Diabetic people are more at risk for heart and lung diseases, high blood pressure, amputation, blindness and other serious conditions, she said.
Dr. Andrew Fenton, a physician who works at Queen of the Valley Medical Center’s emergency department, said he sees evidence of the toll obesity is taking on Napa County.
One recent patient, he said, was so heavy she could not breathe properly because of excess weight pressing onto her mid-section.
“I have also seen kids who are so heavy that they develop hip fractures and the ends of their hips break up and just disintegrate,” Fenton said.
“I have also seen kids whose long bones in their legs bow out instead of being straight due to their excessive weight.”
The California Medical Association supports taxing sweetened beverages. Other groups are proposing a fast food tax to fight obesity, he said.
Babey said health care costs in California for diabetes come with a price tag of about $24 billion annually. Obesity costs are about $21 billion each year, she said.
“If the (obesity and diabetes) rates continue to go up, we can expect that price tag to go up as well,” she said.
posted by Napa Valley Register 9/11/10
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