Public health needs in spotlight

It received low marks on other food- and fitness-related measures, including low rates of daily exercise among high school students and a dearth of supermarkets in many parts of the state. The group gave Massachusetts an F for being among a minority of states that exempt sodas and other sugary drinks from the state sales tax.

Advocates said the report is meant to put a spotlight on the state’s pressing public health needs, particularly obesity, as lawmakers continue to whittle away at the money available to deal with them. In Massachusetts, 3 in 5 adults are overweight, a reality that the report said has fueled a surge in health care costs.

“We are such an incredible leader in health care and life sciences here in the state,’’ said Valerie Fleishman, executive director of NEHI, which was formerly known as the New England Healthcare Institute. “We should equally be a leader in the nation when it comes to health promotion and wellness.’’

The state Department of Public Health has a history of being out in front on programs to curb tobacco use, to diagnose and treat HIV, and to promote maternal and child health, said Valerie Bassett, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association.

But, aside from the HIV programs, many of those notable programs have been undermined by budget cuts, said Bassett, who is part of Healthy People/Healthy Economy, a leadership group for the campaign by NEHI and the Boston Foundation, but was not involved in drafting the report card.

“We are seeing an erosion of the core of public health, as well as a real stripping of [the department’s] ability to respond to new challenges,’’ Bassett said.

Between fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2011, state spending on health care services rose 76 percent. The Department of Public Health budget was cut about 25 percent in the same period, when adjusted for inflation and consumer prices, according to a NEHI analysis of state figures. The department faces further cuts under the budget signed recently by Governor Deval Patrick.