Utah health officials are crediting a drop in the state's obesity rate to its youth programs promoting healthy eating and exercise.
In their State of Obesity Report released this week the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the organization Trust for America’s Health ranked Utah as having one of the lowest obesity rates in the nation.
Dr. Donald Schwarz of the RWJ Foundation says schools in Utah are eliminating in-school marketing of snacks that are considered unhealthy and are no longer selling sodas and other sugary drinks.
“All children, no matter who they are or where they live should have a chance to grow up healthy. And part of that is ensuring everyone has access to healthy and affordable food, safe places to be physically active and nurturing homes, schools, and communities,” said Schwarz.
The Utah Department of Health reports the obesity rate in 2015 was 24.5 percent. That's down 1.2 percent from the year before. But Schwarz says children in Utah, like in other states, are not as healthy as children were twenty years ago, when the organization began collecting data.
“If we continue on this course, this generation of children could be the first in U.S. history to live shorter and less healthy lives than their parents,” he said.
The report shows the rate of diabetes in adults continues to rise nationally. In Utah, the diabetes rate is 7 percent, the second lowest in the nation.
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