Everything's bigger in Texas, even our appetites
By: Jonathan Garris
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Opinion
If there's one thing Texans are proud of, it's their fried food. Who can blame us? Every year, thousands flock to Dallas for the State Fair of Texas, an event that has built its reputation around showcasing a wide variety of deep-fried items that are often high in calories and fat. For Texans at the State Fair, anything is good when tossed in the fryer - Oreo cookies, peanut butter sandwiches and even Coca-Cola are all fair game. Most recently, fried butter garnered an enormous amount of attention at the 2009 State Fair.
Of course, Texans' deep love for fried foods comes at a price. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated that in 2007, 37 percent of adults in Texas were overweight and 29 percent were obese. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in a country that prides itself on excess and size. It is a condition that is associated with a number of different diseases such as various cancers, different types of diabetes and heart disease.
Even as quite possibly the most preventable cause of death worldwide, obesity takes the lives of an estimated 365,000 deaths per year across America.
To make matters worse, it isn't just health that's affected by obesity. The financial aspects of the obesity epidemic are staggering. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the "economic costs of overweight and obesity in Texas during 2001 were an estimated $10.5 billion."
If the trend of Texans growing more overweight and obese continues, "the annual costs associated with excess weight in Texas is projected to reach $15.6 billion by 2010." In 2006, the CDC also stated that about 10 percent of current healthcare costs are caused directly by obesity.
With such a large population at risk for health problems, you'd think people would be taking greater initiative to save themselves.
Of course the rates of obesity have slowed in many areas of the country. Many cities have started up grassroots programs to promote health and good eating habits as a means of reaching out to citizens young and old. Houston Mayor Bill White put together the "Get Moving Houston" wellness campaign and the Mayor's Wellness Council in 2005 to address the city's rate of obesity. That same year, Men's Fitness magazine ranked Houston as the number one "fattest city in America." Through the campaign, citizens in Houston were better educated about the dangers of being overweight and the need for better health. Since the program was started, Houston's ranking in Men's Fitness has fallen to 10th place.
Of course, Texans' deep love for fried foods comes at a price. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated that in 2007, 37 percent of adults in Texas were overweight and 29 percent were obese. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in a country that prides itself on excess and size. It is a condition that is associated with a number of different diseases such as various cancers, different types of diabetes and heart disease.
Even as quite possibly the most preventable cause of death worldwide, obesity takes the lives of an estimated 365,000 deaths per year across America.
To make matters worse, it isn't just health that's affected by obesity. The financial aspects of the obesity epidemic are staggering. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the "economic costs of overweight and obesity in Texas during 2001 were an estimated $10.5 billion."
If the trend of Texans growing more overweight and obese continues, "the annual costs associated with excess weight in Texas is projected to reach $15.6 billion by 2010." In 2006, the CDC also stated that about 10 percent of current healthcare costs are caused directly by obesity.
With such a large population at risk for health problems, you'd think people would be taking greater initiative to save themselves.
Of course the rates of obesity have slowed in many areas of the country. Many cities have started up grassroots programs to promote health and good eating habits as a means of reaching out to citizens young and old. Houston Mayor Bill White put together the "Get Moving Houston" wellness campaign and the Mayor's Wellness Council in 2005 to address the city's rate of obesity. That same year, Men's Fitness magazine ranked Houston as the number one "fattest city in America." Through the campaign, citizens in Houston were better educated about the dangers of being overweight and the need for better health. Since the program was started, Houston's ranking in Men's Fitness has fallen to 10th place.
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Overweight and Obesity
posted 11/19/09 @ 9:27 AM CST
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