Weight Loss Programs In Connecticut

The national average for overweight people is 36.3 percent. The average in Connecticut is 47.8 percent. However, Connecticut has the third lowest adult obesity rate in the nation at 21.3 percent, compared to the national average of 26.7 percent, according to a report by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Significance

In the eastern part of the state, 40.2 percent of the population is overweight. The obesity rate is 28.4 percent, slightly higher than the national average and far higher than the state's average, according to a study commissioned by The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich. It is difficult to determine the reasons for eastern Connecticut's higher obesity levels, but some cite lower incomes when compared to the rest of the state. "Oftentimes, healthier foods are more expensive than the processed foods or fast foods," says weight-loss expert Marilyn Migliore, author of "A Huger Within." "For many people, affordability is a determining factor in what they will eat."

Considerations

In response to area residents' overweight problems, Backus Hospital has launched an ambitious program to help educate people regarding exercise, diet and weight loss. The hospital has opened the Backus Weight Loss Center, and is sponsoring weight control clinics at its health centers.

Support

There also is an online obesity forum for Connecticut residents at obesityhelp.com/forums/CT. Here, people interested in losing weight can share ideas and recipes, provide information about programs and clinics and support each other in reaching their weight loss goals. This website posts events such as the Greater Connecticut Walk From Obesity, which takes place in September.

Resources

The Aetna Foundation has provided a grant to help increase communication between Connecticut pediatricians, parents and children about the dangers of obesity. In addition, The Hartford Foundation is lending its support to the Hartford Childhood Obesity Coalition to help reduce obesity in children. During the past year, the coalition has worked with obesity prevention experts to identify local resources and gaps, and to plan projects that will help curb Hartford's childhood obesity epidemic.

Prevention/Solution

Earlier this year, national drugstore chain Rite Aid launched its "Rite Weight Plan" in Connecticut. The free program offers participants daily emails that will take them through the weight loss program step-by-step, provide interaction with medical experts and allow them to track their weight and food intake daily.

Clinics and fitness centers throughout the state have introduced weight loss programs, and are working with local residents to help them shed pounds.