Data Talking Points:

• Data Source
  • PRC Community Health Survey (2012 & 2015 & 2018)
  • Data is collected every 3 years
  • Method Reminders:
    • Random Selection
    • Sampling levels allow for good local confidence intervals (N=3,300), but you should still keep in mind that error rates are larger at the county level than for WNC as a region

–Results for WNC regional data have maximum error rate of +1.7% at the 95% confidence level

–Results for individual counties have maximum error rate of +5.6% at the 95% confidence level Weights were added to enhance representativeness of data at county and regional levels

• • • Landline (94%) and Cell Phone (6%)
    • Survey instrument based largely on national survey models (e.g. CDC BRFSS)
  • Data Interpretation Tools and Resources
  • Phone Survey FAQs
     
• Definition of "Healthy Weight"
  • PRC Survey Question:
  Weight status (calculated from height, weight questions): Underweight (BMI < 18.5); Healthy Weight (18.5 ≤ BMI < 25.0); Overweight, Not Obese (25.0 ≤ BMI< 30.0); Obese (30 ≤ BMI)
  • US Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2020. December 2010. http://www.healthypeople.gov [Objective NWS-8]
  • The definition of healthy weight is having a body mass index (BMI), a ratio of weight to height (kilograms divided by meters squared), between 18.5 and 24.9.
     
• Other Data Considerations
  • BMI is not a perfect measure, because it does not directly assess body fat. Muscle and bone are denser than fat, so an athlete or muscular person may have a high BMI, yet not have too much fat. But most people are not athletes, and for most people, BMI is a very good gauge of their level of body fat. [Source]
  • Research has shown that BMI is strongly correlated with the gold-standard methods for measuring body fat. (2) And it is an easy way for clinicians to screen who might be at greater risk of health problems due to their weight. (3,4) [Source]
  • It is important to note that we are not looking at individual level data, but at aggregated BMI data which is being used to monitor the health of an entire population.
  • Some researchers have argued that BMI should be discarded in favor of measures such as waist circumference. (22) However, this is unlikely to happen given that BMI is easier to measure, has a long history of use-and most important, does an excellent job of predicting disease risk. [Source]

• Examples of Talking Points
  • Based on self-reported heights and weights, 1 in 3 Western North Carolina adults (31.5%) is at a healthy weight
  • Slight decrease in % adults in western North Carolina at healthy weight
  • This is slightly below national findings (34.4% in 2015)
  • Slightly below the Healthy People 2020 target (33.9% or higher)
  • The continues a negative trend from 2012 to 2015 to 2018 survey results (decreasing percentage of WNC adults at a healthy weight)