Obesity Program Bridges Gap in Childhood Obesity Surveillance

Issue


Hello, my name is Antoine, and I'm calling from Senator Darrell Jackson's office. The senator is seeking data on childhood obesity, racial disparities related to childhood overweight and obesity in South Carolina (SC), and how South Carolina rates compare nationally and to other Southeastern states."

Inquiries like Antoine's are common for officials at the Department of Health and Environmental Control's (DHEC) Division of Obesity Prevention and Control (DOPC). Unfortunately, only state-level data for high school students and low-income children served by the Women, Infant and Children program are available. Based on the state data available, South Carolina has the 5th worst rate of overweight among children aged 10-17 years (18.5%). The state's youngest children are also impacted, as nearly 28% of low income children ages 2-5 are overweight or obese. Much less is known about elementary and middle school-age children, and the status of the childhood obesity epidemic in the state's counties and other local jurisdictions. DOPC officials are convinced that data are useful not just to measure and track the obesity epidemic, but as a means to lower it by raising public awareness and mobilizing additional partners, including lawmakers, in support of obesity prevention efforts in a state that badly needs it.

Intervention


The DOPC director and staff have taken on the challenge of making obesity surveillance data available for all population groups at all levels. Thanks to funding through a 5-year cooperative agreement (2008-2013) with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the DOPC has contracted with the University of South Carolina Arnold School Office of Public Health Practice's post-graduate fellowship program, to hire a postdoctoral fellow as a coordinator of surveillance efforts. These activities are focused on the development and use of a comprehensive surveillance plan that includes the following:

  • A statewide inventory of currently available population-based and program-based data sources related to nutrition, physical activity, overweight, obesity, and other related risk factors;
  • An assessment of the gaps in needed data, and plans for filling those gaps, including identifying potential and alternative data sources; and
  • A reporting plan that identifies potential surveillance data reporting formats and dissemination channels for several years in the future.

Impact


"We knew surveillance was a core function for our program," says Erika Kirby, DOPC director. "We've been talking about this for years, but it takes many conversations to figure out and assess what's out there. We've made more advances in the past few months than we've made in many years." While these challenges exist, DOPC staff are confident that they can respond to requests such as Sen. Jackson's. The effort has identified several alternative sources for both state and local-level data for children, including pre-school and school-based data such as:

  • The Fitnessgram, an assessment of health-related fitness and body composition in 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 9th grades in schools throughout the state;
  • The school health office, where measures of body mass index and selected chronic diseases are routinely taken by school nurses; and
  • Head Start, which measures body mass index among pre-school children.

Successfully reversing obesity rates in South Carolina requires the active involvement of numerous partners across the state. Those partners have often lacked data they can identify with, but with the future completion of the development of the surveillance system, they'll be able to rely on local data that truly depicts their communities.

Contact:


Abdoulaye Diedhiou, MD, MS, PhD
Post-doctoral Fellow