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Welcome to the Mayor's Taskforce on Obesity and Health. This site is intended to provide the general public with information regarding the Taskforce meeting dates and times, and general information regarding Taskforce activities.
Download the final draft of the 10 year plan (213KB PDF).
Download the Year Schedule (60KB PDF).
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Why a Task Force on Obesity and Health?
Obesity is a significant and growing threat to the public’s health, the implications of which include serious health consequences such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoarthritis, sleep disturbances and breathing problems, and certain cancers.
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Some suggest that obesity is the problem of individuals, but when a health problem becomes so rampant that no sector of our community remains untouched and the financial impacts affect everyone, it becomes a problem for the entire community – so the entire community needs to be involved in the solution.
In response to this growing epidemic, Mayor Mark Begich has convened a Taskforce on Obesity and Health. The Taskforce is comprised of a broad spectrum of community members - doctors, business and insurance representatives, developers, realtors, policy makers, youth/students, planners, engineers, police, public health workers, school representatives, early childhood experts, parents, parks and recreation representatives, attorneys, local restaurant representatives, and military representatives to name only a few.
The Taskforce is charged with the task of studying the many aspects, causes and impacts of Obesity in Anchorage, developing a ten-year plan to address it, and completing the process within twelve months.
The problem of obesity is clear:
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The direct costs to U.S. taxpayers for obesity alone reached $75 billion in 2003. (U.S.Center for Disease Control (CDC))
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58% of people surveyed in the Municipality of Anchorage are overweight, with 21% qualifying as obese. (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS))
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32% of students entering Anchorage kindergarten or first grade, and 36% of all Anchorage students are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight. (State of Alaska DHSSstudy of Anchorage School District Data: 1998-2003).
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70-80% of overweight children will continue to be overweight or obese their entire lives. (U.S. Surgeon General)
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Based on current estimates, our next generation of children will be the first in U.S. history whose life expectancy is shorter than their parents due to the health impacts of obesity. (National Institute on Health (NIH))
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What is Obesity and how it is determined? Obesity is the excessive accumulation of fatty tissue (adipose tissue) to an extent that health is impaired. Obesity is usually determined using the body mass index or BMI. The BMI is a standard measurement of choice for many health professionals. The BMI is a measure of your weight relative to your height. It is a reliable indicator of total body fat which is related to the risk of disease and death. The score is valid for both men and women but it does have some limits. The limits are:
• It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build.
• It may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle mass.
Overweight is defined as a BMI>=25 and <30 kg/m². Obesity is defined as a BMI >=30 kg/m². Obesity correlates strongly with obesity related co-morbid conditions and mortality. To check your BMI click here.
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