Obesity Numbers for Michigan Go Down

The health news for Michigan - not including the Flint Water Crisis - remains a concern for the majority of our adult citizens. The website State of Obesity reported in 2015 that, according to its updated numbers, obesity in Michigan appeared to be leveling out after a sharp rise from 13.2% in 1990 to 31.5% in 2013. It was 30.7% in 2014.

This may not seem to be much, it means that Michigan has dropped from being one of the Top 10 most obese states down to 17, below other Midwest states like Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Sadly, all of the fifty states have obesity rates above 20% and many of them much, much higher. Obesity is highest in the 45-64 category and lowest in the 18-25 category. Men in Michigan are slightly more likely to be obese than women, and Blacks and Latinos are both more likely to be obese than Whites. Adults are considered to be obese if their body mass index (BMI) is greater than 30. Adults with a BMI of higher than 25 but lower than 30 are considered overweight. Combining both overweight and obese adults, two-thirds of adults in Michigan are heavier than what is considered a normal weight.

Recent university research has revealed that childhood sweet cravings are a good predictor of later weight gain and adult obesity. Childhood obesity is also a problem in Michigan, although the percentage of obesity children ages 2-4 in low-income households also dropped with the most recent survey.

While individually people tend to look at weight gain and the health problems associated with it as an individual’s struggle, the fact is that there are long ranging consequences for the state at large because of obesity which is why researchers are looking into childhood obesity predictors and what other root causes could be behind these trends. Not only are diabetes, hypertension, and a host of other physical problems linked to weight gain, but much of the damage done is permanent. Losing weight will help alleviate many dangerous or uncomfortable health conditions, but it will not reverse the stress placed on internal organs or the stretching of skin the results from large weight gain.

Finally, losing hundreds of pounds is not only very difficult, but most people who accomplish it are not able to maintain that weight loss and gain it back over time. This is why researchers want to bypass childhood and mid-life weight gain so that the overall quality of health of the U.S. population is better.

In Kent County the percentage of obese adults is 29%. Women have a slightly lower rate at 28% than men, 30% of whom were obese.  

Is Our Water Safe to Drink?

With the Flint water crisis being in the news now for weeks, it's very likely that citizens from all over Michigan are asking themselves if they can trust the water coming from their faucets. Certainly Grand Rapids residents aren't the only one wondering if their water is potable or if it's full of harmful bacteria and toxic chemicals.

To begin with, it's important to note that Grand Rapids City Deputy Manager Eric DeLong says that the water in the Grand Rapids area is safe to drink. That water comes from Lake Michigan, is treated in West Olive, and is piped in from there to residents' homes. It is checked at multiple points to determine that it meets specifications for drinking water safety. The Grand Rapids Water Systems sends out an annual water quality report detailing how it makes sure that the city's water is safe to drink.

Also, Grand Rapids has a history with its water. Its location on the Grand River facilitated its success as the Furniture City, and Grand Rapids was the first city to implement a policy of adding fluoride to it public water system in 1945.

The problem in Flint appears to be one of oversight and accountability, but it's clear the public doesn't understand what the risks with untreated water are either. Water is most often contaminated because of how humans behave around water sources. Toxic chemicals get dumped in streams, river, and lakes. People don't keep their drinking water separate enough from the water they use to clean, bathe, urinate, or defecate in. Very frequently the water-borne illnesses travelers pick up in other countries are because the water is not sufficiently treated to remove germs, bacteria, or parasites.

One of the larger problems with the Flint case is the lead currently found in the drinking water. Heavy metals including lead dissolve in water when it flows through pipes or within the natural aquifers the water is taken from. Sometimes people notice it, such as when water has an iron taste or stains a sink red over time. Mostly it's invisible, though. Unfortunately, once a person has ingested heavy metals, they are hard to remove from bodily tissues. Instead, they build up over time and eventually interfere with numerous bodily processes in various ways. The simplest way to treat heavy metal poisoning is not to be exposed to heavy metals in the first place. It's hard to recommend that as a strategy after exposure has already occurred, however.

A good water treatment system has multiple steps included in order to remove all of the above hazards and more. These include coagulation and flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection. The water must be well monitored over time to make sure the system is working and consistently. In Flint neither of these were done effectively.

This is certainly not the first time the public has gotten nervous about contamination. Now that such a large percentage of our food comes from hundreds or thousands of miles away and is subject to contamination anywhere from point of origin to each loading dock stop it makes. We all rely on both municipal systems and government oversight to maintain public health. The question is, can we trust these people to do their jobs?