SC unveils Statewide Obesity Action Plan

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and the South Carolina Obesity Council, announce the state’s first-ever obesity action plan, SCaledown.org. A culmination of collaborative efforts, the initiative focuses on both long-term and short-term strategies that can be immediately implemented to begin reducing the rate of obesity in the Palmetto State. The website directs residents to proven sources that can help them on a daily basis. Currently, two out of three South Carolina adults and one out of three children are overweight or obese. Linked to chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, obesity contributes to the diseases that kill the most people in the state, make the most people sick, and cost the state the most money, an estimated $8.5 billion per year and growing.