Slimming down South Carolina

COLUMBIA -- The 21st-century war on obesity and its myriad costly diseases is under way. As with any revolution, the militias are in place and ready to do their part.

In South Carolina, many of those groups are tied together through a nonprofit organization whose name says it all: Eat Smart, Move More SC.

Last week, nearly 200 leaders from Eat Smart, Move More chapters, along with state health officials and private insurance interests, converged on Columbia for the 2010 Obesity Prevention Summit to hear updates on efforts and initiatives.

"Which state will turn the tide of obesity in the United States?" Dr. Joseph Pearson, chairman of Eat Smart, Move More SC, asked in the opening address at the summit. "South Carolina could be, and should be, the first state to do just that. Because of our obesity rates, it makes sense that we are on the front lines of this battle."

According to a July 2009 report by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, South Carolina has the fifth highest rate of adult obesity, 29.7 percent, in the nation and the 13th highest rate of overweight youths ages 10-17, 33.7 percent.

Pearson offered hope for those who are ready to do something about the nation's health.

He said that despite the recession and the resulting cutbacks in health campaigns, the coming year looks good for the cause. He pointed to first lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative to combat childhood obesity and upcoming prevention programs as part of the hotly debated federal health care reform act, such as mandatory food labeling for restaurants with 20 or more locations.

"And in South Carolina, grass-roots organizations are emerging and gaining ground," says Pearson, noting that Eat Smart, Move More has a growing influence in Columbia.

Upping the ante

While the war on obesity seems to be a new campaign, it's not, according to Carole Garner, an Arkansas-based authority with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity.

She points to official state reports in Arkansas and South Carolina published in the late 1990s. The latter report, published by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control in December 1999, was titled "Report on the Impact of Obesity on Health in South Carolina."

What's changed in the past decade, Garner says, is that we understand more about the forces behind the obesity epidemic, from the impact of "competitive food" in schools, such as fast-food vendors and vending machines, to the idea of "food deserts" and "recreation deserts."

Those desert areas are references to communities, typically underprivileged, where access to fresh produce and safe places to play and exercise are limited. Now recognized, something can be done about them.

As a result, Garner says, the battle also can't just encompass government health agencies but must extend to policies in transportation, trade and food.

For example, transportation must earmark more for sidewalks and other bike and pedestrian facilities. Trade must limit marketing to vulnerable populations, such as children and the poor. And food agencies must try to encourage bringing affordable produce into low-income communities.

Garner says local government needs to play a role as well and pointed to a guide published last fall by the Institute of Medicine.

The "Local Government Action to Prevent Childhood Obesity" guide, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, recommends 58 action steps organized under 15 broad strategies.

Among the strategies are creating incentive programs to attract grocery stores to underserved neighborhoods, implementing a tax strategy to discourage consumption of junk food and beverages, creating a network of sidewalks and street crossings that connect to schools, parks and other destinations and collaborating with school districts to establish joint-use agreements that would allow playing fields, playgrounds and recreation centers to be used by community residents when schools are closed.

"We need to make healthy choices the easy choices," says Garner.

Bringing it home

In February, a local coalition of groups brought together by the Medical University of South Carolina's LEAN (Learning, Exercise and Nutrition) Team came together to form a local chapter of Eat Smart, Move More.

Coleen Martin, LEAN team program director, says the group had been meeting for three years and includes representation from 60 nonprofits, governments and private businesses and individuals. Some of these include the American Heart Association, DHEC, Charleston County School District and other local governments, media and Trident United Way.

"These partners have collaborated for the past two and a half years compiling data, conducting needs assessments and implementing obesity-prevention policies and programs in the schools and communities within the Charleston area," says Martin.

The group recognized that Eat Smart, Move More was the umbrella organization that was emerging in South Carolina.

"We really liked what they were doing and didn't feel like we needed to reinvent the wheel," says Martin.

The Tri-County Eat Smart, Move More chapter will focus on four areas: education and training for local partners, communication and marketing, projects and programs, and advocacy.

Reach David Quick at dquick@postandcourier.com.

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