Obesity solutions discussed

QCS Managing Editor

If Tucumcari could develop and mark walking paths and work with grocery suppliers to improve healthy grocery offerings, that could be the beginning of reducing obesity in the city and county.

Those were the findings of community volunteers who participated in a study of the availability of resources that promote good nutrition and opportunities for exercise in the city. The volunteers used GPS systems and cameras to show both opportunities to obtain healthy food and exercise and barriers that prevent good nutrition and adequate exercise in Tucumcari.

The volunteers’ observations were part of a six-state effort that originated with Oregon State University to confront the causes of childhood obesity in rural communities in western U.S. Other states in the study include Oregon, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Washington.

Obesity in rural communities across the U.S. has been recognized as a significant problem by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dr. Deborah Johns, the OSU assistant professor who launched the anti-obesity effort, said. The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Johns a $4.8 million grant to conduct the six-state effort.

Locally, Brenda Bishop, the home economics coordinator for the Quay County Extension Office, coordinated the efforts of volunteers and helped compile local results. Using a technique developed at Oregon State called HEAL MAPPs, the volunteers tracked their own pursuit of exercise and nutrition opportunities using cameras and GPS devices. HEAL MAPPS is an acronym for “healthy eating, active living: mapping attributes using participatory photographic surveys.”

Study leaders also compiled a summary of findings.

According to that summary:

• Good nutrition opportunities included farmers’ markets, a food co-op and community garden, multiple food assistance programs, improved food choices in school lunch programs, and acceptance of food stamps and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) acceptance at area stores.

• Barriers to good nutrition included limited access to healthy, fresh fruits and vegetables and a perception of poor quality food at the city’s grocery stores.

• Among physical activity opportunities listed were indoor recreation and exercise facilities, including pools and gym facilities and exercise classes; public parks and playgrounds; recreational sports programs for adults and youth; some recent improvements in Tucumcari’s downtown area; school policies that allow community members to use track; and high school gyms for summer use by students.

• Barriers to physical activity included a lack of sidewalks and lack of maintenance on existing sidewalks, lack of maintenance in some area parks, loose trash and burned buildings that look uninviting to potential walkers; loose dogs and high vehicle speeds that residents consider hazardous; and limited hours, affordability of some exercise and recreational facilities.

Tucumcari was the one of the first communities in the state to apply the HEAL MAPPS program. Bishop explained that Quay County ranked at the bottom of New Mexico’s 32 counties in health outcomes in a recent Robert Woods Johnson Foundation study. Quay County’s high poverty rate--nearly one in four residents is poor, and its obesity rate--nearly one in four adults is obese and one in three are physically inactive, are key factors in Quay County’s bottom ranking. In Quay County, the foundation reports, 28 percent of adults smoke, and 25 percent are obese.

Alida Brown, coordinator for the Quay County Health Council, said that obesity may be the main focus of health council activities for next year. The council’s board is expected to make a decision on Thursday, she said.

OSU is getting full support in its study from the New Mexico State University’s extension service headquarters. Sonja Koukel, Ph.D, a community & environmental health specialist for the extension service, said she spearheaded the state participation because of OSU’s community-based approach.

“This program allows the communities to develop their own solutions,” she said, “rather than have them recommended from on high.” Quay, Grant and Torrance counties were chosen to spearhead the HEAL MAPPS program in New Mexico, she said, but only Quay County has completed the first steps.

Johns said that too often in the U.S., government solutions to obesity are designed for urban settings, where grocery stores, fitness facilities and parks are close at hand. In rural communities, she said, these facilities and services are often not available, so communities must find their own solutions.