While Colorado is still the thinnest state in the nation, obesity, diabetes and other health problems are on the rise, and some are even more prevalent regionally.
Colorado has been ranked No. 1 for the lowest obesity rate in the nation for 10 years, but the state is moving the wrong way. The percentage of obese adults has risen from 18 percent in 2007 to 21.5 percent, according to the 2016 Colorado Health Report Card. Across Southwest Colorado, about 16.9 percent of adults are obese.
Childhood obesity has risen from 9.9 percent in 2007 to 10.9 percent in 2016. In La Plata County, 27 percent of kids are obese or overweight.
Addressing obesity is a tough issue because it can be tied to a lack of access to healthy foods and economic status.
“Some of the least healthy food is also the least expensive,” said David Bruzzese, a spokesman for Mercy Regional Medical Center.
The community is tackling the issue in a variety of ways by improving school lunches and maintaining community gardens, said Kathleen McInnis, executive director of the Southwestern Colorado Area Health Education Center.
The Southern Ute Community Action Program limited the amount of sugar served in its Head Start program about five years ago and immediately saw improved health, said Eileen Wasserbach, executive director of the Southern Ute Action Programs.
While that progress has been difficult to maintain, they have continued focusing on healthy foods and educating parents about healthy diets, she said.
To educate a broader audience, Mercy Regional Medical Center and The Garden Project of Southwest Colorado are holding a six-part series this summer on nutrition starting in April.
Diabetes and high blood pressure are other growing problems.
“Before we will see significant changes in patient behaviors, we must address barriers to care,” McInnis said.
Some barriers are inability to find a provider, lack of insurance, lack of transportation and an inability to follow treatment plans due to cost, McInnis said.
Insurance coverage is a barrier for far fewer people, since the expansion of Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act took effect in 2013.
In 2008, 14.2 percent of children in Colorado were uninsured. It is now about 5 percent. In La Plata County, 6 percent of kids are uninsured.
But the expanded coverage is not necessarily a panacea for troubling health trends.
Some doctors may not take Medicaid because the reimbursement rate for care is too low, McInnis said. In addition, those people who have insurance for the first time may have long-term health issues.
To help connect patients to doctors, Mercy is making sure patients with long-term diseases who come into the emergency room schedule an appointment with a primary care doctor before they leave.
Over the last few years, Mercy has increased the number of primary care doctors from five to 22 and opened three new clinics, including Mercy Internal Medicine which opened in February on North Main.
Seeing a primary care doctor can help prevent medical emergencies and reduce the cost of care, Bruzzese said.
“Patients do, I believe, benefit greatly from having a medical home,” he said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
Negative Health Findings (PDF)
Positive Health Findings (PDF)
