Legislature(2013 - 2014)BUTROVICH 205
04/03/2013 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Preventing Childhood Obesity | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
April 3, 2013
1:33 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Bert Stedman, Chair
Senator Peter Micciche, Vice Chair
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Kevin Meyer
Senator Pete Kelly
Senator Johnny Ellis
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: PREVENTING CHILDHOOD OBESITY
- HEARD
WITNESS REGISTER
KAROL FINK, Obesity Prevention and Control Program Manager
Division of Public Health
Department of Health and Social Services
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information related to Preventing
Childhood Obesity.
ANN POTEMPA, Public Health Communication Specialist
Division of Public Health
Department of Health and Social Services
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information related to Preventing
Childhood Obesity.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:33:49 PM
CHAIR BERT STEDMAN called the Senate Health and Social Services
Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:33 p.m. Present at the
call to order were Senator Micciche and Chair Stedman.
^PRESENTATION: PREVENTING CHILDHOOD OBESITY
PRESENTATION: PREVENTING CHILDHOOD OBESITY
1:34:17 PM
CHAIR STEDMAN announced that the only order of business would be
a presentation on preventing childhood obesity.
KAROL FINK, Obesity Prevention and Control Program Manager,
Division of Public Health, Department of Health and Social
Services, presented information related to Preventing Childhood
Obesity. She shared her professional background and work history
as a dietitian where she became aware of the importance of good
nutrition and physical activity as preventative measures. She
listed the topics that would be discussed in the presentation.
1:35:59 PM
MS. FINK described why it is important to care about obesity.
Obesity is associated with poor health outcomes in adults and in
childhood, as well as associated with poor academic performance
and increased absenteeism in students. The American Academy of
Pediatrics now has guidelines for the treatment of children with
diabetes due to the prevalence of obesity in children. She said
for the first time in modern history, today's younger generation
will live shorter and less healthy lives than their parents due
to obesity.
MS. FINK related that a recent report from the Armed Forces
Health Surveillance Center found that obesity is currently the
leading cause of ineligibility for first-time active duty
applicants.
MS. FINK shared that millions are spent on a preventable
condition. In Alaska, close to half a billion dollars is spent
annually on obesity-attributable expenditures.
She explained that it is known that preventing obesity could
reduce Alaska Medicaid spending. In Alaska, $459 million is
spent annually on a mostly preventable condition. By 2030,
Alaska may be paying close to $300 million per year just for the
state's share of Medicaid dollars needed to cover direct medical
costs of obesity.
SENATOR MICCICHE asked if the curve would look the same for any
medical condition.
MS. FINK agreed that increased costs to Medicare over time are
projected. The graph shows rising costs related to obesity.
1:40:01 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE said the health care cost curve looks like the
obesity cost graph.
MS. FINK clarified that obesity is projected to rise and incur
greater costs.
MS. FINK showed a graph with the rate of Alaska adult obesity
rising, which has more than doubled in the last 20 years.
MS. FINK showed a map that depicts different rates of obesity in
Alaska. She said two out of three Alaskan adults are overweight
or obese.
1:42:24 PM
MS. FINK talked about obesity in children. She said three out of
ten children in Alaska are overweight or obese. She said that of
2-4 year olds enrolled in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
Program, 41 percent are overweight or obese.
MS. FINK reported that Alaskans don't know that kids need 60
minutes of physical activity every day and that obese kids do
worse in school. However, Alaskans do know that obesity is
hurting our kids and that there are health risks from childhood
obesity. They also know the causes of obesity.
MS. FINK stressed that knowledge does not equal behavior and
kids are drinking sugary drinks, not eating enough fruits and
vegetables, and not getting enough physical activity.
MS. FINK stated that Alaskans care that children are obese. A
variety of agencies are responsible for addressing obesity.
Alaskans Taking on Childhood Obesity (ATCO) is a coalition that
tries to prevent childhood obesity.
1:47:07 PM
MS. FINK shared DHSS's goal to decrease childhood obesity by
five percent in five years. The plan has been shaped by best
practices and with input from the ATCO membership. She said
ATCO's first initiative is to support Alaska's schools to make
good nutrition and physical activity the easy choice. Together
with DOE and the school health collaborate workgroup, ATCO
developed the Alaska School Health and Safety Framework to
improve student health. It is important that services are
evidence based and supported by those who will be impacted.
She noted the lack of physical education programs in schools.
She said that ATCO will provide training for teachers who are
assigned to teach physical education.
MS. FINK said with the department's support, more students will
learn skills for an active life. Physical education targets this
goal. The department will work in partnership to develop PE
standards and offer training and equipment. Through the
initiative, there are 53 schools that participate in PE
training.
1:50:27 PM
MS. FINK described how kids are eating healthier school meals
due to the partnership. More kids are eating Alaska salmon and
local Alaska food, and more schools have gardens. The coalition
has partnered with DOE, the Division of Agriculture, and the
Department of Environmental Conservation to support this effort.
The coalition will be hosting the 7th annual School Health &
Wellness Institute next fall.
MS. FINK talked about how the coalition knows it is being
effective. It collects feedback from those who are trained by
the coalition. She used Kodiak Island School District as an
example.
MS. FINK showed a graph depicting a decrease in the number of
schools that sell sugary drinks and junk food. From 2006 to 2012
the number of schools selling soda dropped to 21 percent from 50
percent and the number of schools selling candy dropped to 16
percent from 41 percent.
1:53:32 PM
MS. FINK discussed concrete measures that show a decline in the
weight of students. She showed a graph of the Anchorage School
District's decline in obesity where obesity has declined, but
not to previous levels. She showed another slide that included
obesity-related initiatives that had an effect on the outcome.
She listed some of the tactics the Anchorage School District
took in order to reduce obesity, such as adopting a wellness
policy that bans the sale or provision of junk food.
SENATOR MICCICHE said it "looks tough" to only have a two
percent drop in obesity. He opined that it involves a lot of
work, but it is moving in the right direction.
MS. FINK added that there is a lot more work to do.
1:57:54 PM
ANN POTEMPA, Public Health Communication Specialist, Division of
Public Health, Department of Health and Social Services,
presented information relate to Preventing Childhood Obesity.
She discussed the health benefits linked to the 2008 Physical
Activity Guidelines for Americans.
She reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
published "The DCD Guide to Strategies to Increase Physical
Activity in the Community" in 2011. The first strategy shown to
work is building a community-wide campaign, so that is what DHSS
did. The focus of the campaign, Play Every Day, is on childhood
obesity prevention.
MS. POTEMPA referenced articles about the Mat-Su and Anchorage
Schools Districts which reported some success in battling
obesity.
MS. POTEMPA talked about building awareness and increasing the
knowledge about childhood obesity through a variety of
educational messages.
She shared the recipe for a campaign to change behaviors. It
needs to be sustained, not short-lived, large in scale, wide in
reach, backed by research to better understand the audience, use
effective messages focused on changing behaviors, and have
multiple means to deliver educational messages.
2:02:34 PM
MS. POTEMPA showed the Play Every Day web site. She talked about
partnering for physical activity and building community support.
A successful community-wide campaign must have community
involvement. She reported that they worked with partners to
extend their reach and built a team of people and programs
reinforcing the same message. They offered events that promote
the behavior change.
MS. POTEMPA described Healthy Futures program which is run for
three months, both in the fall and in the spring. She described
the Healthy Futures challenge. The goal is sixty minutes a day
of physical activity and results in a prize. Schools and
students both benefit from Healthy Futures; schools receive
grants for sports or health equipment.
2:06:29 PM
MS. POTEMPA said DHSS is not the only partner of Healthy
Futures. Other partners are Providence Health and Services,
United Way of Anchorage, ConocoPhillips, and the Alaska Kidney
Foundation.
MS. POTEMPA described a graph that shows how much growth has
occurred as a result of participating in Healthy Futures.
SENATOR MICCICHE asked if that is statewide.
MS. POTEMPA said yes. She reported that 14 percent of
elementary-age children are participating in Healthy Futures.
She continued to say that there are now 124 schools
participating and over 8,000 students have turned in logs so
far.
MS. POTEMPA described partnering with parents and with local
athletes for Healthy Futures. She used Ma'o Tosi as an example
of an athlete, father, and advocate for children. She described
the benefits of parents being active with their children. She
said Scott Gomez is another partner, as is Kikkan Randall.
2:10:48 PM
MS. POTMEPA shared some success stories as a result of Healthy
Futures. She described the Bowman Elementary program, which had
100 percent participation in February of 2013. She related that
Ravenwood Elementary in Eagle River was also very successful.
2:12:32 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE asked if they are collecting data regarding
physical fitness improvements from Healthy Futures.
MS. POTMEPA said they are not at this time.
She talked about Badger Road Elementary in North Pole and quoted
the PE teacher from there. "Healthy Futures is well worth my
time and energy to put into it. There isn't another program out
there like it. It's an opportunity for kids to achieve extra
activities for a healthier life."
MS. POTMEPA showed a map that depicts the success of Healthy
Futures Challenge across Alaska. There are currently 124 schools
involved with Healthy Futures. She said this is how Alaska's
parents can make the healthy choice for their children the easy
choice. Alaska's kids are hearing the same healthy message from
their teachers and their parents and others. She concluded that
children and adults are becoming healthier because of efforts to
reduce obesity.
2:15:26 PM
CHAIR STEDMAN asked about expanding the reduction of sugar
drinks in schools.
MS. FINK mentioned proposed federal guidelines regarding sugar
drinks in schools. She suggested waiting for the final FDA
ruling before taking action at the state level. She said the
plan would then be to provide school support through training
and technical assistant to implement the new rules.
SENATOR MICCICHE noted that his generation had junk food, but
always played outside. Today, kids are fed well, but lack
exercise. He suggested that sedentary behavior might be a more
important factor than diet. He applauded the department's
efforts, but maintained that parents have some responsibility
for their children's fitness.
CHAIR STEDMAN thanked the presenters.
2:18:41 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Stedman adjourned the Senate Health and Social Services
Standing Committee at 2:18 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| AK Obesity Prevention Efforts 2013 Senate HSS.pdf |
SHSS 4/3/2013 1:30:00 PM |
DHSS Presentation on Obesity Prevention |