Southern Governors, Health Experts Discuss Obesity

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour  hosted a panel of
leading health experts Saturday to discuss the South’s increasing obesity epidemic during the 73rd annual convening of the Southern Governors’ Association (SGA  meeting in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Governors and medical experts from throughout the
South came together to discuss the burgeoning health care crisis that has increased medical costs to
states and contributed to decreased of productivity among the region’s citizens. Recent reports site
nine of the ten fattest states as being in the South, where more than 25 million people have diabetes.
“There is no greater issue driving the U.S. economy than the obesity crisis,” said former Arkansas
Governor Mike Huckabee, who kicked off the panel discussion.
During his remarks, Huckabee shared his personal battle with obesity and diabetes. Since being diagnosed with the disease, he has been a leader in the effort to implement state policies to promote healthy lifestyles.

Following Huckabee’s remarks, Dr. William Rowley, a Senior Futurist at the Institute for
Alternative Futures, offered his forecasts of the incidence of obesity and diabetes in many Southern
states, and the consequent costs associated with these trends. “By the year 2025, half of the adult
population in Mississippi will be obese,” Dr. Rowley reported.

Speaking about the challenges involved in countering the rising epidemic of Type 2 diabetes,
Susan R. Cooper, Director of Tennessee’s Project Diabetes, called for educating adults and
children about how they can make modest lifestyle changes to prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes.
Continuing the discussion on causes, Dr. Marshall Bouldin, Director of the Diabetes Center at the
University of Mississippi Medical Center, dramatically displayed the precipitous decline of the
region’s health through a series of maps portraying the increasing weight of the Southern
population, as a whole.
-
John Miall, a Special Consultant to the American Pharmacists Association Foundation, drew upon
his experience with the Asheville (NC) Project during his presentation. “If we can provide
education and personal oversight for employees with chronic health problems, then we can reign in
the obesity epidemic,” said Miall.