MINNEAPOLIS, February 20, 2008—"If a majority of Minnesotans were diagnosed with a condition linked to some of the most debilitating and life-shortening diseases around, would you be concerned?"

That's the question posed by Mark W. Banks, M.D., CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, in a Star Tribune commentary today.

Minnesota ranks 21st among states on obesity, and its people are becoming obese faster than people in the rest of the country, Banks said. The issue matters to BCBS because obesity drives up health costs. Treating obese patients may add $1 billion per year to our health care costs by 2010.

Minnesota needs to declare a "state of health" to combat the crisis, Banks said.

"What would happen if we created environments across Minnesota that encouraged more walking and less driving? What if it was as easy to find fresh fruit on our lunch breaks as it is to get a double cheeseburger to go? And how much more likely would we be to get moving if physical activity was something that blended naturally into our daily routines, instead of being a task reserved just for the gym? The changes would be dramatic."

The payback for a statewide assault on obesity will be better health, better-controlled health costs, reduced absenteeism, and improved worker productivity, Banks said.

Complete Star Tribune commentary