Health in the Workplace
Dr. John Armstrong
Florida State Surgeon General
As we survey the health landscape, the top challenge we face in Florida is the challenge of weight. Only 36 percent of Floridians are at healthy weight; one quarter are obese and the rest are overweight. Over the next 20 years in Florida, obesity is expected to contribute to millions of cases of preventable chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer, costing an estimated $34 billion.
To overcome this challenge, the Florida Department of Health launched the Healthiest Weight Florida initiative in January 2013. Healthiest Weight Florida is a public-private collaboration bringing together state agencies, not-for-profit organizations, schools, businesses and entire communities to help Florida’s children, adults and families make consistent, informed choices about healthy eating and active living. Our goal is for Florida to be the healthiest weight state in the nation. In just two years, we’ve moved from being a top 20 healthiest weight state to being in the top 15.
