By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – A new health report released Wednesday says the number of obese and overweight adults in Upstate New York continues to increase.
It was just a couple of weeks ago that a federal report indicated that obesity is now the second leading cause of preventable death in the country. Wednesday, Univera Health released a report that focuses on the extent of the problem in upstate New York.
"The obesity initiative in Upstate New York examined how many people in the region are obese," Richard Vienne, associate medical director at Univera, said. "The report found that over a five year period from 1997 to 2002 the number of obese adults living in Upstate New York increased by about 100,000 people."
And the cost is high, in terms of both lives lost and on the economy. Estimated at more than $6 billion dollars, the Univera report found that New York ranked second highest among US states on obesity-related medical spending.
Vienne said it's hoped that the increasing attention on the obesity problem will convince at least some people to do something about it.
"It's been well publicized that even a minor amount of weight loss does improve health outcomes," Vienne said. "The Buffalo area is very well known for high rates of heart disease and stroke. So, even modest reductions in weight would have significant impact upon reducing heart disease and stroke within our region."
Vienne says education, behavior-oriented counseling and reinforcement are some effective ways of combating the problem. What he doesn't endorse are such drastic solutions as gastric bypass surgeries.