Testimony of Eric Mann
President/CEO, Pittsburgh Metropolitan YMCA

Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies

July 15, 2004

"Preventing Chronic Disease Through Healthy Lifestyles"

Mr. Chairman, Senator Harkin and Members of the Subcommittee, my name is Eric Mann, and I am the president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan YMCA. I want to begin by thanking my Senator, Arlen Specter, and Senator Tom Harkin, for their commitment to preventing chronic disease in this country through programs that promote healthy lifestyles and help people to eat better and get active. I specifically applaud this subcommittee's commitment to encourage healthy lifestyles among our nation's kids, families and communities. This is important work, and I thank you for your commitment and for inviting me to speak here today.

The city of Pittsburgh provides a good example to showcase trends in chronic disease. Over 75 percent of adults in Pittsburgh report an average consumption of less than five servings of fruit and vegetables per day. In Pennsylvania, obesity-attributable expenditures for direct medical expenses are estimated to be $4.138 billion.

Various community leaders in Pittsburgh have recognized these trends and are starting to take action. Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield is working with the public school system on a health and fitness curriculum for all elementary children. The Centre for Minority Health at the University of Pittsburgh sponsored a month-long community awareness program highlighting health issues in the Black community.

As the leading charitable community-service organization in the city, the Pittsburgh Metropolitan YMCA has also responded. We currently serve 164,377 individuals -- half of these are under the age of 18. We have a specific commitment to the overall health and wellness of our youth and seniors who live in our under-resourced and minority communities and would like to thank Senator Specter for the support he has given us for our work in these communities. Like all YMCAs throughout the country, we do not turn people away due to an inability to pay and last year provided $395,133 in scholarships and subsidies to ensure that our programs are open and accessible to all.

The dramatic increase in obesity and chronic disease in Pittsburgh has caused us to provide a renewed emphasis on our programs that focus on physical activity and healthy eating. We offer Fit for Life, which is a collaborative effort between the Pittsburgh YMCA and the Catholic diocese to provide physical education for elementary school children. Our Spark (Sports, Play & Recreation for Kids) program is a collaboration with Highmark, designed to develop health and fitness curriculum for the 2000 children who are served through our 50 different after-school sites. Through food banks and other food programs, we are serving 3,708 families.

What is becoming very clear in Pittsburgh is that all sectors of the community must come together and collectively develop a unified strategy for preventing chronic diseases. This is why Pittsburgh has decided to participate in the YMCA's Activate America Pioneering Healthier Communities project. In Pittsburgh, our team consists of eight community leaders, including the key leaders from Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Pennsylvania's largest health insurer, UPMC, the region's largest health care organization, along with the Center for Minority Health and the Pittsburgh Catholic diocese. Our purpose is to become dramatically more effective in partnering to improve the spirit, mind and body of our kids, families, and communities.

I am confident that the results of our effort will be dramatic. As an example of exactly what "dramatic" means, I have Marty Balawejder with me here today. Marty has literally turned his life around -- taking on depression, underemployment, and his own poor physical health to become a Pittsburgh success story. He will speak at a press conference later this morning about his personal achievements. Just as Marty continues to challenge himself to lead a healthier lifestyle, we as a community are prepared to do the same thing.

Again, I thank you for your commitment to this issue and for the opportunity to speak here this morning.

Risk Factor Trends in Pennsylvania 1990-2002

Since 1990, the prevalence of adult obesity (adults with a Body Mass Index of 30 or greater) in Pennsylvania has nearly doubled from 12.5% to 24%.

Mann Chart

Since 1990, the prevalence of overweight adults in Pennsylvania has increased from 33.8% to 35.6%.

Mann Chart

Since 1990, the percentage of adults who report an average consumption of less than 5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day has steadily remained around 75%.

Mann Chart

Pennsylvania has the 11th highest rate of obesity in the United States. The following table shows the obesity rates for the 20 states that have the highest obesity rates in the country.

States with the highest obesity prevalence in the United States, 2001

State Obesity rate
1. West Virginia 27.5
2. Mississippi 26.8
3. South Carolina 25.8
4. Alabama 25.7
5. Louisiana 25.5
6. Texas 25.5
7. Michigan 25.4
8. Tennessee 24.6
9. Kentucky 24.5
10. Indiana 24.1
11. PENNSYLVANIA 24.0
12. Arkansas 23.7
13. North Carolina 23.5
14. Georgia 23.5
15. Missouri 23.2
16. Ohio 23.0
17. Oklahoma 22.9
18. Iowa 22.9
19. Kansas 22.8
20. Wisconsin 21.6

[ 1 ] National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2002.