Searching for Young People to Inspire Healthy Living!
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a non-profit organization founded by the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, is searching for young people excited to share their commitment to healthy living and inspire their friends, families, schools and communities to take action and help stop childhood obesity.
STOP Obesity Alliance April E-Newsletter
Dear Reader,
Every day, parents and other caregivers are confronted with myriad questions and situations that not only are challenging and unanticipated, but for which they are unprepared.
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A Legislative Low-Down on Obesity and the States
Webinar Examined State Trends & Upcoming Issues on Obesity & Related Chronic Diseases
The STOP Obesity Alliance hosted a webinar on Tuesday, December 6, in which experts discussed state legislative activities related to obesity and weight-related chronic disease that could signal broader trends in the future. Click here to view the webinar.
National Indian Health Board
The National Indian Health Board advocates on behalf of all Tribal Governments, American Indians and Alaska Natives in their efforts to provide quality health care for all Indian People. Since 1972, the National Indian Health Board has advised the U.S. Congress, Indian Health Service federal agencies, and private foundations on health care issues of American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Elevating the visibility of Indian health care issues has been a struggle shared by Tribal governments, the federal government and private agencies. The National Indian Health Board consistently plays a major role in focusing attention on Indian health care needs, resulting in progress for Tribes.
Obesity is one of the most critical public health challenges that tribal communities face. Obesity is a major risk factor for developing a variety of diseases and disorders, and obesity rates of American Indian and Alaska Native youth are growing at a faster rate than any other race or ethnic group (CDC, 2009). Evidence of this can be found in a 2009 study which stated that 31.2 percent of AI/AN four-year-olds are obese; a rate higher than any other racial or ethnic group studied and almost double the rate among white four-year-olds (Anderson & Whitaker, 2009). In the older youth, a study found in the Aberdeen area (including North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa), 48.1 percent of AI/AN boys ages 5-17 years and 46.3 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native girls ages 5-17 years were overweight or obese in 2006 (Zephier, Story, et al, 2006).
These alarming statistics are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, asthma, sleep apnea, low self-esteem, depression and social discrimination (CDC, 2008). And the top ten leading causes of death in the AI/AN population are heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, diabetes, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, suicide, nephritis and influenza (National Center for Health Statistics, 2006). From 1994 to 2004, AI/AN youth ages 15-19 years experienced a 68 percent increase in diabetes and in 2005, 1,758 AI/AN youth under the age of 19 were diagnosed with diabetes (IHS, 2008). It is critical from a public health perspective to support efforts to reverse this troubling trend.
Click here for more information on the National Indian Health Board.