Page 81 - Illinois Association of Park Districts Benefits of Membership 2017 - 2018

ACTION
The Association will encourage public/private partnerships between our members and nonprofit organizations, universities, hospitals and schools. We will continue to promote best practices and model programs.
POSITION OF THE ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION OF PARK DISTRICTS
Reducing obesity – the role of park districts, forest preserves, conservation and recreation agencies
The issue
Obesity is a national epidemic. Studies show that obesity aggravates – or may be a contributing cause of – heart disease, diabetes and many other illnesses. Other studies indicate that exercising more and eating less help control weight and provide the basis for a healthy lifestyle. Obesity and its related health issues affect the American worker and can negatively impact a corporations’ bottom line. And many recent studies show specifically that childhood obesity is rising rapidly in the United States.
Background
The numbers of overweight children and adolescents in the U.S. have tripled over the last 40 years. Nationally, one in five children over the age of six is considered overweight. An estimated 65 percent of U.S. adults aged 20 years and older are either overweight or obese.1
The statistics for Illinois are even more compelling. Illinois ranked 22nd in the U.S. in the rate of adult clinical obesity at 22.9 percent. Obese and overweight adults currently comprise 59.9 percent of the population.2 Twenty-six percent of boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 16 are overweight, and another 18 percent are at risk of becoming overweight.3 A study of 3- to 7-year-old children at 25 Chicago Public Schools found that 23 percent were overweight, and 15 percent more were at risk for becoming overweight.4 Nearly one
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 1999-2002.
2 Trust for America’s Health, F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2005.
3 The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHAHES III) 1988-1994. Huntsville, Md: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
National Center for Health statistics; 1996.
4 Longjohn M. Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children Annual Report 2003. Chicago, Ill; Children’s Memorial Hospital; 2003.
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