Agenda - 11-05-2003-8g - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: November 5, 2003 Action Agenda Item No. .J SUBJECT: Fees for Weight Management Programs DEPARTMENT: Health PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Rosemary Summers, ext. 2411 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel HiCI 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To consider approving fees for two weight management programs conducted by the Health Department. BACKGROUND: The Health Department is proposing piloting two weight management programs in Orange County -one for adolescents and teens and one for adults. Obesity is one of the underlying, preventable contributors to heart disease and diabetes. According to the most recent Behavioral Factor Risk Surveillance Survey (BFRSS), 16.7% of Orange County adults are obese and an additional 31.5% are overweight when measured by calculating their body mass index (BMI). Overweight is defined as a BMI of 24.9 and obesity is a BMI of 29.9. Women and residents with a high school education or less have higher rates of overweight and obesity. There is a growing epidemic of obesity among our adolescent and teen population as well. Statistics from the North Carolina-Nutrition and Physical Activity Surveillance System show that 17.3% of adolescents from ages 12-18 are at-risk for overweight and 29.6% are overweight in Orange County. Orange County is higher than the state average of 26.3%. Research studies have shown that obesity in children is likely to persist into adulthood. While there are commercial programs available for adults in the area, many individuals need a more focused approach than those programs may be able to provide. There are few, if any, programs in the area specifically targeted to adolescents and teens. Offering the adolescent program is based on requests by local physicians, school nurses, and parents to implement a program in the school setting for this population group. The Chapel Hill YMCA is planning a pilot program based on a different model. The Orange On the Move Coalition submitted a Health and Wellness Trust grant application to start a program at the Chapel Hill YMCA and at the Hillsborough Sportsplex. If that grant is awarded, the Health Department will be cooperating with those programs as well. The Board of Health has reviewed and approved these two pilot programs proposed by the Health Department to begin to address these preventable conditions in specific populations.