Our health-care dollars are going to waist.

• Author: Cote, Mike
• Position: COTE'S COLORADO

Nearly 18 percent of Coloradans are obese, more than half are overweight and we're getting fatter every year.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Still, the rest of the country has one word for us:

Skinny.

Welcome to the land of lowered expectations, where even the leanest state in the land has closets full of clothes that don't fit.

But we're beginning to learn that indulging in french fries while skimping on exercise does more than keep us flabby and hurt our self-esteem. It's bad for business.

A Denver-based coalition is trying to reverse the trend. The Metro Denver Health and Wellness Commission includes community leaders from government, nonprofit groups, business and education.

The commission, which launched a five-year plan in May, is developing strategies to promote health and fitness in schools, business and communities, with an eye on curbing the rising cost of health care. (See "Premium pain" on page 22.)

Statewide efforts include LiveWell Colorado, an initiative launched by the Colorado Health Foundation. The nonprofit has pledged $2.7 million with its partners to support health and wellness programs over the next two years.

The health of the local population is a factor that businesses now consider before relocating, says Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.

"About two years ago, somebody called and said, 'Can you give us the obesity rates by county?'" Clark said during a Denver chamber talk in August.

Adult obesity rates rose in 31 states last year, according to the Trust for America's Health. Colorado was the leanest state, but its adult obesity rate rose from 16.9 percent to 17.6 percent.

Business leaders began touting how healthy Denver residents are--until they found out they are getting fatter at the same rate as the rest of the country, Clark said.

And they're not all that thin to begin with. A report conducted for the Health and Wellness Commission ranked Denver as the No. 1 fittest city among the 25 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. But it's a somewhat dubious distinction.

"Fifty-three percent of adults (in Colorado) are overweight or obese," Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien told the chamber audience. "And that makes us the best."

At stake is reducing the $874 million per year spent on obesity-related medical expenses in Colorado. Regional business health-care costs average $7,482 per employee, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and grew 9.2 percent in metro Denver...