MAHONING VALLEY Federal grant sought for health effort

POLAND -- Area health officials met here Tuesday in an ongoing effort to win a $1 million grant to counter three potentially deadly chronic diseases in the Valley: obesity, diabetes and asthma.
The preventative health care grant, is available through the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. It would benefit residents of Mahoning and Trumbull counties by offering better access to nutrition information and exercise facilities, information about risk factors and chronic disease prevention and chronic disease support groups.
Dr. Suman Mishr, director of the Hormone Metabolism Center in Poland and coordinator of the effort, is seeking more help in drafting the preliminary grant proposal, due July 15. Already involved are health commissioners from Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
The goal is to prevent about 14,000 Valley residents from becoming obese, 9,000 from getting diabetes and 5,000 bronchial asthma patients from being admitted to emergency rooms. The totals are based on the nation-wide goals of CDC to be reached by the end of the five-year grant program.
According to the CDC, recent data indicate that 64 percent of American adults are overweight or obese. Obesity has been estimated to cost $99 billion annually in this country, principally through its association with cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer. The risk of obesity is higher in blacks and Hispanics.
Eleven of the estimated 200 urban areas submitting proposals will win grants.