Obesity still high in Orange, Seminole

Kids are getting bigger and bigger — but not in the good, growing-up way.

According to the recently released 2013 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps report, which ranks each county and state in the country according to various health factors, the obesity and inactivity rate has remained high in Orange and Seminole counties. And University of Central Florida professor Aaron Liberman said it’s kids who are tipping the scales.

Liberman, a professor of Health Management and Informatics, said obesity among children is a result of iPod parenting — putting an electronic device in front of a child to exercise their brain instead of their bodies. He also said parents forced to work more, post-recession, has forced kids to learn from one another, often creating poor eating habits to pair with their sedentary lifestyle.

“The population we’re greatly concerned about is the younger population, kids in school,” Liberman said. “Because what we’re seeing, no matter the economic standards, is that kids are not eating right, they don’t get enough exercise and as a result, we’re seeing factors that are very disturbing.”

Last year, Seminole County ranked as the second healthiest county in Florida. This year it’s No. 4, but Seminole County Health Department director Swannie Jett said the criteria changed slightly so their rank can’t be compared year to year.

Socioeconomic status in the county is a large contributing factor to its high ranking, Jett said. There are many more college educated adult residents — 79 percent — than in neighboring Orange County, which has 64 percent. Orange ranked No. 16 in the state overall.

“We also have good access to care so we can offer more preventative services. We are working on more partnerships so patients don’t fall through the cracks. The community works together to solve some of the issues,” Jett said.

Still, both Orange and Seminole counties experienced a rise in the percentage of children living in poverty — from 17 percent in 2002 to 26 percent this year in Orange and from 10 percent to 17 percent during the same time period in Seminole. That’s compared to 25 percent in the state and 14 percent as the national benchmark.

Liberman said poverty level affects the healthful aspects of a community. Even with more money and better education, Seminole still nearly matched Orange County’s adult obesity rate of 27 with 25 percent. There was no rank in the report for childhood obesity.

“One would expect a more affluent and better educated population would have the resources to access the things for a better life. But diabetes [and other chronic illnesses related to poor eating and exercise regimens] is becoming an epidemic in this country. That’s happening in Orange and Seminole,” Liberman said.

Liberman agrees that more parents staying home with their children instead of working is not a realistic solution. Rather, enrolling kids in extra-curricular activities or supervised programs that keeps their bodies moving could be the silver bullet to a healthier youth.

He said there are a number of affordable or even free programs parents can access, such as the YMCA or the Boys & Girls Club.

“We’re not going to say to mom, ‘You have to stay home now.’ You have to organize activities or work with agencies that organize these activities, get them into sports programs that get them moving instead of kids sitting on the couch playing on their iPad.”

Meanwhile, health department officials in Orange and Seminole said they’re doing their part to help make their communities healthier.

Jett said partnerships are key: working with the schools to educate children on how to be healthy and campaigning city councils to build more sidewalks to encourage more physical activity.

“Teachers can educate the students on how to eat healthy. If you start at a younger age, it’s the easiest age to influence. They actually teach their parents,” he said.

Mirna Chamorro, Orange County Health Department spokesperson, said they are working with other agencies to limit the number of fast food restaurants, hosting community foot races and helping to create more farmers markets. The department specifically targets children in an anti-obesity campaign called Green Sprouts, which teaches pre-kindergarten students how to grow food, eat healthy and the importance of physical activity.

“It’s more education and prevention,” she said. “We try to encourage people to cook at home and eat healthier meals.”