In this Issue:Environmental Links to Obesity

Built Environment: What's Health Got to Do With It?

Is Obesity Linked to In-Utero Exposures to Environmental Chemicals?

Soda in Schools

While there are many risk factors for the current obesity epidemic, researchers have recently been examining the relationship between urban sprawl and obesity. Researchers have been hypothesizing that as sprawl increases, so do the chances that residents will be obese or have high blood pressure. A recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health evaluated just this question and discovered that people living in the most sprawling counties are likely to weigh six pounds more than people in the most compact counties, and are also more likely to be obese. The study also finds that people in sprawling areas walk less, thus possibly indicating that people in more sprawling areas have fewer chances to stay fit through routine physical activity.

If there are no places to play or walk outside, fewer people are going to do it. A study by the Transportation Research Board of the Institute of Medicine found that "built environments that facilitate more active lifestyles and reduce barriers to physical activity are desirable because of the positive relationship between physical activity and health." The report recommended more research because there is not sufficient evidence to identify which specific changes would have the most impact on physical activity.

People tend to think of obesity as strictly a personal matter, but there is much that communities can and should do to address these problems. For example, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supports Activ e Living by Design, a program designed to promote environments that make it easy to incorporate physical activity into daily routines.

A current local opportunity to address this issue is the Safe Routes to School bill currently pending in the Oregon state Legislature. HB 2742 will establish a Safe Routes to School Program and Fund to which local communities can apply for grants to address engineering and other barriers to children getting safely to school by walking or biking.

Click here to find your legislator and contact information

Greetings!

Welcome to Healthy Environment, Healthy Tomorrow, a service of the Oregon Environmental Council (OEC). Here you will find timely information on the latest science, news and resources on the link between health and the environment.

In this issue, we focus on the environmental links to obesity. Oregonians have been getting heavier and heavier, following a trend visible across the nation. Fifty seven percent of Oregon adults are overweight or obese. Oregon leads the nation in childhood obesity and obese children are 80% likely to remain obese into adulthood. Children who remain overweight face a lifetime of obesity related problems, like heart disease,Type II diabetes, and other chronic illnesses. According to a University of Chapel Hill study, obesity adds $93 billion/year to the cost of health care in the US - $732 per obese person.

There is evidence that the environment is contributing to this epidemic. Some links are obvious, such as easy access to unhealthy food; some are more complex, such as the built environment; and some are cutting-edge, such as provocative new research on environmental chemicals that can alter endocrine systems that may then trigger obesity.

·  Is Obesity Linked to In-Utero Exposures to Environmental Chemicals?

Several new studies link obesity to in-utero exposures to environmental chemicals. There are a number of studies that demonstrate that childhood obesity is associated with maternal smoking in pregnancy. Animal studies have also shown that prenatal nicotine exposure also results in postnatal weight gain.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals have long been suspected of having an impact on human health. Their effect on causing or enhancing obesity is a hot topic. In a February 2004 symposium titled Obesity: Developmental Origins and Environmental Influences, co-sponsored by the NIEHS and Duke University, the latest science on the role of endocrine disruptors in the etiology of obesity was discussed. Provocative resarch was presented linking low dose exposures to bisphenol A to an increase in differentiation of fat cells and an increase glucose transport, both of which may impact later development of obesity. Bisphenol A is chemical used to make hard clear plastics. A recent review of the 100+ research studies related to Bisphenol A was published in the Environmental Health Perspectives.

Click here for presentations from the meeting

·  Soda in Schools

The classroom is one of a child's most constant environments. This is a key time in the development of their patterns both for eating and exercise. Spurred by the need for funding, schools enter into exclusive soda contracts. Frequently these contracts have consumption goals, where students have to consume a certain amount of soda per year for the contract to be fulfilled. A recent study by Community Health Partnerships, a non-profit groups of doctors, nurses and public health professionals, examined soda contracts in 22 districts in Oregon. Their findings raise serious questions about the benefits both to schools and to the children who learn there.

The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement calling on schools to stop selling soft drinks and start providing healthier alternatives, such as water. The statement advise doctors to educate not only their patients but also school administrators about how soft drinks can impact health. Soft drink consumption is also leading to less milk consumption, which is potentially jeporadizing a generation's formation of bone mass.

Some school systems are already leading the way. For example, New York City's school system plans to stop selling soda from in-school vending machines. You can ask your school about their policies. Community Health Partnerships can help you.

In the meantime, the National Institutes of Health has clinical guidelines for treating obesity. In addition, the Mayo clinic has a suite of tools for parents including advice for parents on what they can do about childhood obesity, strategie s to keep kids active, and a kid specific body mass index calculator.

Click here for a child specific body mass index calculator