By Illinois Radio Network/Cole Lauterbach

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois has the 17th highest rate of childhood obesity in those ages 10 to 17 years old, according to a new report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The statistic places Illinois in the top half of the country. Although Illinois childhood obesity rates are not growing year-to-year, they are not decreasing either, according to Dr. Adam Becker, executive director of the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children at Lurie Children’s Hospital.

“We have a slight downward trend in terms of the percentage of our state that is overweight,” he said. “At the very least, the rates don’t look they are skyrocketing in our state, which is good. But the fact that we are middle-of-the-road in comparison to other states is not good, of course.”

“We’d love to be the lowest,” he added.

Obesity in children is typically affected by their community, school, living environment and access to healthy food.

“We do know that places where there is a high degree of poverty – and certainly Illinois has urban and rural poverty – that the rates tend to be higher,” Becker said.

“We can look at sort of what does our food environment look like across the state, how affordable and easy it is for families to be physically active, what kind of policies are available in schools, and how well are they implemented,” he said. “We know that there is room for improvement across all those.”

Obese children have a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and hypertension and other health problems. The medical community and the state are taking measures to mitigate the issue.

“There are a number of key strategies that are happening around the state and certainly here in the city of Chicago, which is where I work,” said Becker. “They are making a difference, but they are not happening to scale, and they are not happening in a coordinated way.”