Gaemcmag by Carolyn Crist

Lighten up! Tackling obesity in Georgia BY CAROLYN CRIST

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CAROLYN CRIST

Juanita North, right, and Susan Weirauch attend a UGA Workplace Health Group meeting. Here, North describes her struggles with her planned physical activity and nutrition program and pledges to keep tracking portion control, counting fat grams and walking or working in her garden each day.

thens resident Juanita North saw the pounds drop when she began watching portion sizes and fat grams in her meals. North says her success came from writing down the numbers. “You must be aware of everything you eat. You may think you’re on track, but you’re not,” North says. “When you write down everything, it makes you think. Then you start realizing what you’re not doing to help yourself.” North and colleagues in the parking services department at the University of Georgia in Athens participated in a pilot study by UGA’s Workplace Health Group aimed at health and weight management in the workplace. North, who manages the department’s front desk, joined nine other UGA employees on Thursday mornings last fall to set goals and talk about their struggles with eating and exercise. At the end of the six-month program, most of the group lost a few pounds. Now, as they work through the “maintenance” portion of the program, they’re trying to keep it off. “I encouraged my co-workers to go to the meetings so we could all get ideas about healthy eating and exercise,” North says. “We all need to lose weight and say we will, but we never do. There were a lot of excuses, but by the end, everyone was on board and looking forward to each week.” The pilot group followed the Fuel Your Life program, a worksite adaptation of the national Diabetes Prevention Program created by the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and the

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—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Georgia’s weight problem

There’s a new study in the media each day. Obesity affects cancer, our minds and our social lives. We grow numb to the updates. But it’s not a coincidence that the TV series “The Biggest Loser” drew 7.4 million viewers to its finale in March. This is an issue deeply embedded in our minds. It’s also embedded in our bodies. Obesity is linked to the state’s most prevalent health concerns—heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data in August 2012 showing that 29.6 percent of Georgia’s adults are obese, meaning they have a body mass index of 30 or greater. Beyond that, about twothirds of Georgia’s adults are overweight, with a BMI above 25. This ranks the state at No. 24, or around the middle, in terms of being fat. The new statistics say July 2013

that one in five Americans—and one in three children—is obese, which brings a host of health problems that totals $2.4 billion in Georgia alone. Georgia has the second-highest rate of childhood obesity after Mississippi, with about 30 percent of kids between ages 10-17 over a healthy weight. And it’s getting worse. A new report forecasts a sharp rise in obesity in every state in the next 20 years. The research by Trust for America’s Health estimates that if current trends continue, 13 states will have obesity rates higher than 60 percent by 2030, and every state will exceed 40 percent. In Georgia, 54 percent of adults are projected to be obese. The nation’s—and Georgia’s—obesity statistics are reaching a crisis level, says Karen Hilyard, a University

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‘We can’t expect to survive as a country if we have a crippled workforce that can’t handle physically demanding jobs.’ PHO TOS.COM

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. It encourages participants to move through lessons in a manual and discuss habits with peers, such as boosting physical activity and developing healthier eating habits. Now the UGA researchers are taking what they learned in Athens on the road to help government workers in Athens, Columbus and Macon with their caloric intake and physical activity.

—Karen Hilyard, assistant professor of health promotion and behavior, UGA College of Public Health

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Georgia has the second-highest rate of childhood obesity after Mississippi, with about 30 percent of kids between ages 10-17 over a healthy weight.

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CAROLYN CRIST

Obesity by Age Group — 2008 vs. 2012

UGA kinesiology students help Athens residents with intellectual disabilities to exercise by learning simple maneuvers with balls and weights. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index indicates that obesity rates in 2012, at 26.2

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of Georgia assistant professor of health percent nationwide, were higher than in 2008 at 35.5 percent. This occurred in almost promotion and behavior with experiall age groups. Obesity rates increased in Georgia, North Carolina and New Jersey. ence in health communication. Hilyard spoke on a panel of obesity experts at a UGA event this spring. are addressing the obesity issue by researching multiple “We need a wake-up call,” she says. “I can’t bedisciplines—exercise, nutrition, education, genetics, the lieve we’re working on any other issue in public health immune system and media messaging. right now because of its wide-reaching impact across “We found that if you’re in the exercise department, all areas. This problem fits the definition of a crisis, but you think obesity is about exercise, and if you’re in nutriwhy aren’t more people outraged?” tion, you think obesity is about eating too much,” says Unlike a natural disaster, obesity and its long-term Mary Ann Johnson, a professor of nutrition and co-leader risks are perceived differently, Hilyard explains. But we of the initiative’s exercise team. “The initiative has helped need to change the way we talk about obesity, she says. to broaden our scope and focus on the quick translation “We need to reframe the issue from one of perto what we can recommend to people.” sonal responsibility to one that’s a community issue. It For instance, about 45 million Americans embark affects not just our own health but our economy and on diets each year, and the majority fail, according to health care costs,” she says. “We can’t expect to survive data released by Boston Medical Center. as a country if we have a crippled workforce that can’t In addition, approximately 65 percent of Americans handle physically demanding jobs. who actually lose weight on diets Policymakers must consider what return to their pre-diet weight in obesity means for the future of three years, and only 5 percent of our country.” people who lose weight on restricThat’s part of the reason tive diets—such as no-carb or why the University of Georgia liquid diets—keep it off for good, launched the Obesity Initiative according to Gary Foster at the in January 2012—to acknowlUniversity of Pennsylvania’s Weight edge the problem and search for and Eating Disorders Program. answers. Several UGA professors are investigating this diet trend by Creating partnerships looking at the psychological factors for research behind nutrition and exercise. For The statewide Obesity Initiaexample, people often overeat to tive includes 90 UGA professors reward themselves for working out. and partnerships across the state “They don’t have a good The CDC recommends buying and cooking with Emory University, Children’s sense of the calories being burned fresh produce as part of a balanced and Healthcare of Atlanta and variversus how much they can ingest,” healthy diet. ous school systems. The groups says Michael Schmidt, a UGA 30 34

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Ralph Tripp, UGA professor of infectious diseases, is investigating how obesity is related to bone density and genetics. July 2013

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CAROLYN CRIST

kinesiology professor and leader Bee Tees, a play on the of the study. “It’s much easier to word “diabetes,” makes players ingest calories than burn them.” responsible for the health of a Schmidt is working with beehive. Creators hope the game psychology professor James will start the conversation about MacKillop, who specializes in obesity. addictive behaviors such as alco“You can’t tell kids to eat hol use and smoking, to investibroccoli because it’s good for gate the compensation effect. them. It’s like telling people to “Studies show that areas of exercise so they won’t get fat the brain related to weight manversus somebody wanting to exagement are also related to adercise because they are interestdictive behaviors,” Schmidt says. ed in it,” says Casey O’Donnell, “We want to assess the wide the game’s designer and a Michirange of these behaviors and see gan State University professor. to what extent we can predict “We approach all of our games how people will compensate.” that way. Can we make a game Another team is looking at about diabetes that’s not about overweight children, academic diabetes?” achievement and physical activIn Bee Tees, pollen and Exercise science students Christie Ward and Rachelle ity in after-school programs. By nectar mimic protein and sugar Acitelli conduct a pretest on a University of Georgia developing and testing how 45 in humans. O’Donnell thought a eFit cycling machine in preparation for kinesiology games help movement and mobeehive would be a good symdepartment research this fall. tor skills, the professors want bol for the body since he didn’t to train teachers across the state on how to keep their want kids to have an avatar that would gain weight and students moving. stigmatize obesity. “Students aren’t always active on the playground, “If you can get to kids early and help them unand these games help them to learn the skills of passderstand their physiology, the more they can appreciate ing, throwing, catching and evading,” says UGA kinethe benefits of a healthy lifestyle,” says Tom Robertson, siology professor Brian McCullick, who studied U.S. UGA associate professor of physiology and pharmacolschool-based exercise mandates last year. He found that ogy, and one of the developers of the game. “But if you Georgia elementary schools make the cut, but middle tell 10-year-olds that if they don’t change their lifestyle and high schools in the state don’t come close. habits, in 20 years they’ll have heart problems, their eyes “We’ve already seen a big improvement in conwill start to glaze over because it’s not relevant to them.” fidence and leadership skills” this year at Chase Street Robertson’s pharmacology colleague, UGA profesElementary School in Athens, he says. “We hope to train sor Scott Brown, won a grant to create a game to help officials all over the state and make the program selfundergraduate students learn more about kidneys, diasustaining in schools.” betes and obesity by acting as virtual scientists studying Several other professors are developing gaming renal physiology in a virtual research lab. software to teach students about “We’ve historically used textobesity and diabetes. books, lectures and presentations

Mary Ann Johnson, UGA professor of nutrition and an aging expert, researches how obesity affects older generations. More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

Bryan McCullick, UGA professor of kinesiology, looks to after-school programs as a way to help childhood obesity. He created games to engage children in exercise. 35

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CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

This map released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the percent of obese residents in each state, which is calculated as a body mass index of more than 30.

Cooking food at home, loading up on fresh vegetables, and measuring portions encourages healthy eating. For tips, see page 38A of the July 2013 digital edition at www.georgiamagazine.org.

with comparatively simple graphics, but science is very 3-D,” Brown says. “When students are growing up and playing immersive games at home, there’s an expectation for high-quality graphics, and we need to mirror that.” Brown uses a similar case study in a freshman seminar, in which students use interactive computer software to learn the intricacies of a dialysis machine to treat a patient. As part of the class, Brown focuses on Type 2 diabetes and kidney failure, particularly related to obesity and chronic diseases. “The financial burden of diabetes is astronomical, and it’s rising dramatically,” Brown says. “Even if the current obesity trend hits a plateau, diabetes follows the onset of obesity by 10 to 20 years, so we will have this problem for decades to come. We need tools to help young people understand this.”

Taking responsibility and getting involved

Agencies and organizations across Georgia are stepping up to address the obesity challenge, particularly for children. In late March, more than 30 groups showcased their efforts to members of the Georgia General Assembly. The state’s Department of Agriculture is collaborating with local schools to get locally grown produce into cafeterias and cut down on fried and processed foods. The Department of Transportation is trying to create safe routes for students to walk or bike to school. The Department of Early Care & Learning is pushing preschools and after-school programs to incorporate exercise and fruit snacks. At the helm of it all, the Department of Public Health is in charge of coordinating the various state efforts. “Together, we can turn this tide and make child-

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hood obesity a thing that’s in decline,” says Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who has championed multiple anti-obesity programs and started Healthy Kids Georgia in several K-12 school districts. Similarly, Gov. Nathan Deal launched the SHAPE initiative to fight childhood obesity. This year, 21 schools across the state received grants totaling $87,000 to develop and implement plans to increase physical activity and healthy eating on campus. A recent study of Georgia elementary school children showed that the majority couldn’t do a pushup, walk a mile or touch their toes, says Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. The group started the Strong4Life movement to promote lifetime health and weight management. “For many years, it was perceived that obesity was simply about overeating,” say the leaders of Center Helping Obesity in Children End Successfully, or CHOICES, which is based in Kennesaw. The center promotes social support groups, one-on-one coaching and an interactive website to tackle the obesity discussion with children. “Through research we have learned that it is really about the changing times of technology, diminished safe places for children to play, the bombardment of fast food marketing and the lack of healthy meal choices in schools,” says CHOICES Executive Director Vanetta Keys. Georgia companies are jumping into the partnership as well. In May, the Coca-Cola Co. celebrated its 127th birthday by announcing four initiatives to address obesity—offering low- or no-calorie drink options in every market, featuring calories on the front of all beverage packages, supporting physical activity programs (Continued on page 38)

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UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

(Continued from page 36) marked the 40th anniversary in every country where it does of National Nutrition Month in business, and not advertising to March by planting community children under 12 in any coungardens or attending local farmtry. The Coca-Cola Foundation ers markets. then pledged nearly $4 million For workers like North, to Atlanta and Georgia organizawho sits at a desk most worktions to support exercise and days, these programs are impornutrition education programs. tant. She hopes they continue to “As the world’s leading expand. beverage system, we believe we “On the whole,” she says, have a role to play in helping “there aren’t enough programs create solutions,” says Chairfor people, especially employees, man and CEO Muhtar Kent. “For to discuss and receive valuable us, this is an evolution, not a Diet and lifestyle can make a difference in prevent- information about eating and exrevolution … an elevation, not a ing childhood obesity. ercise, and this encourages us to revelation. This is the next step get out and do more together.” in our ongoing journey.” Carolyn Crist is an Athens-based freelance reportGeorgia’s electric membership corporation groups er specializing in health and business news. Her articles have also joined the fold. Georgia Transmission Corp. have appeared in the Gainesville Times, Newnan Timesin Tucker recently won an award for a health initiative, Herald, Flagpole Magazine and Georgia Health News. and others are creating programs and partnerships that promote activities such as yoga and walking. Ways to eat healthier Across the state, local groups are starting up their For tips on controlling what you eat and how much, own community efforts with “Biggest Loser” competisee page 38A of the July 2013 digital edition at www. tions, dance marathons and annual 5K races. Some web exclusive georgiamagazine.org.

Clogged, Backed—up Septic System…Can anything Restore It? Dear Darryl

DEAR DARRYL: My home is about 10 years old, and so is my septic system. I have always taken pride in keeping my home and property in top shape. In fact, my neighbors and I are always kidding each other about who keeps their home and yard nicest. Lately, however, I have had a horrible smell in my yard, and also in one of my bathrooms, coming from the shower drain. My grass is muddy and all the drains in my home are very slow.

My wife is on my back to make the bathroom stop smelling and as you can imagine, my neighbors are having a field day, kidding me about the mud pit and sewage stench in my yard. It’s humiliating. I called a plumber buddy of mine, who recommended pumping (and maybe even replacing) my septic system. But at the potential cost of thousands of dollars, I hate to explore that option. I tried the store bought, so called, Septic treatments out there, and they did Nothing to clear up my problem. Is there anything on the market I can pour or flush into my system that will restore it to normal, and keep it maintained? Clogged and Smelly – Atlanta, GA

DEAR CLOGGED AND SMELLY: As a reader of my column, I am sure you are aware that I have a great deal of experience in this particular field. You will be glad to know that there IS a septic solution that will solve your back-up and effectively restore your entire system from interior piping throughout the septic system and even unclog the drain field as well. SeptiCleanse® Shock and Maintenance Programs deliver your system the fast active bacteria and enzymes needed to liquefy solid waste and free the clogs causing your back-up. This fast-acting bacteria multiplies within minutes of application and is specifically designed to withstand many of today’s anti-bacterial cleaners, soaps and detergents. It comes in dissolvable plastic packs, that you just flush down your toilets. It’s so cool. Plus, they actually Guarantee that it restores ANY system, no matter how bad the problem is.

SeptiCleanse® Shock and Maintenance Programs are designed to work on any septic system regardless of design or age. From modern day systems to sand mounds, and systems installed generations ago, I have personally seen SeptiCleanse unclog and restore these systems in a matter of weeks. I highly recommend that you try it before spending any money on repairs. SeptiCleanse products are available online at www.septicleanse.com or you can order or learn more by calling toll free at 1-888-899-8345. If you use the promo code “GAS1”, you can get a free shock treatment, added to your order, which normally costs $169. So, make sure you use that code when you call or buy online.

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