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Ranked 40th in the Nation, Texans Overall Health Improving Slightly Compared to Other States

Posted byHoumanitarian

Pat Hernandez, KUHF Public Radio
The 2012 America’s Health Rankings found that Texas moved up a couple of notches to 40th place. It compiled data from the CDC, American Medical Health Association, the Census Bureau and even the FBI. Dr Salil Deshpande is the medical director with United Health Foundation, a nonprofit that conducts the annual snapshot.

Full America’s Health Rankings available from United Health Foundation

“One of the things that’s interesting here in Texas is that we actually have a fairly low rate of tobacco use, relative to other states. And I think especially as we think about the impact of the Texas Medical Center and the focus on cardiovascular disease, we know that there has been over time, significant reduction in the use of tobacco in Texas in our adult population.”

While Texas has one of the lowest rates of cancer deaths in the United States, it claims a higher obesity rate than the national average and an increase in infectious diseases. Deshpande says the study finds more than 30 percent of  adults in Texas are obese, because of poor eating habits and little or no exercise.

“It’s very important for people to understand that something as simple as a weight reduction of 5 to 7 percent loss of your body weight can actually improve your risk for diabetes substantially.”

Although Texas has the highest rate of uninsured, it has gone down slightly. That still creates a problem at hospital emergency rooms from people who might not have a doctor.
(More of the story at KUHF Public Radio)

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