Diabetes Health

Jump to another page... Introduction Diabetes prevalence Leisure time physical activity Obesity High-fat diet Fruits and vegetables—Fruit consumption Vegetable consumption Use of food labels High Blood Pressure and Hypertension Routine annual checkups Direct care physician to population ratio (1) Hospitalization rate for diabetes mellitus with complications (1) Age-adjusted mortality for diabetes mellitus (2) Years of potential life lost (2)

Obesity

Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes. The Healthy People 2010 goal is that no more than 15 percent of the population will be obese. Obesity is measured using the Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. A BMI between 25 and 29.99 is considered to be overweight, a BMI over 30 is considered to be obese. The 2004-05 BRFSS results estimate that 69 percent of the Bexar County adult population is overweight (this combines overweight (34 percent) and obese (35 percent). BRFSS results show that the percent of the population who are obese across the State, as well as in Harris and Bexar Counties, has increased since 2002. Thirty-two percent of Texans and 31 percent of Harris County residents reported weights and heights that result in being classified as obese. The rate of obesity in Bexar County appears to be growing faster than the statewide rate, increasing from 24 percent in 2002 to 35 percent in the period 2004-2005.

The proportion of the population who are obese is significantly higher in the southern sectors of Bexar County ranging from 43 percent in the West to 47 percent in the South and East sectors. Combining the percentage of people who are overweight, but not obese, with these who are obese results in a reported 80 percent of residents living in the southern part of Bexar County are overweight. In the northern sectors 29 percent report being obese. Sixty-two percent of residents living in the north part of the county are overweight. Most of the increase in obesity in Bexar County occurred in the southern sectors. The percent of people who are obese in the South has increased almost 10 percent in between 2002 and 2004-2005. It is important that strategies including both improved nutrition and exercise be developed to help deal with concerns about weight and weight control. And it is more likely that community members will participate in these strategies if they are engaged in designing plans that will assimilate easily into their own lifestyles.

High-fat diet

In 2002, when asked whether the foods they eat are high fat, medium fat, or low fat, 14 percent of residents of Bexar County indicate that they eat a high fat diet. This question was not asked on the 2004 or 2005 BRFSS, but there is little reason to believe the responses would be significantly different in the current timeframe. Across the county the percent reporting that they consume a high fat diet varies from a low of 10 percent in the West to 17 percent in the East. This question depends on the respondent’s understanding of the nutritional content of foods. A better understanding of the nutrition, including which foods contribute to health and which are detrimental, could improve both eating habits and help with weight loss and maintaining a healthy body weight. A combination of good nutrition and exercise is suggested to improve body weight.

Fruits and vegetables
Fruit consumption

Regular consumption of fruits and vegetables contribute to a healthy lifestyle. The United States Department of Agriculture recommends that people eat two or more servings of fruit a day. The BRFSS asks respondents how many times a day they eat fruit, but not the serving size. The Healthy People 2010 goal is that 75 percent of the population will consume two or more serving of fruit each day. In the period 2004-2005, only 14 percent of Texans reported that they consume two servings of fruit a day. In Bexar County, 16 percent reported that they meet this standard. This is down from 20 percent in 2002. The downward trend appears to have occurred across the state. It is possible that recent public attention to diets such as the “Atkins,” “South Beach,” and other widely discussed diets have had an impact on fruit consumption.

The size of the BRFSS sample is not large enough to produce reliable estimates of the percent of persons living in the sectors in the south of Bexar County who consume fruits two or more times a day, except for the West sectorβ. An average of 15 percent of residents in the southern sectors report eating fruit two or more times a day. In the sectors in the north of Bexar County an average of 18 percent indicated they eat fruits two or more times a day. In the North Central sector, 23 percent report meeting the standard, but only 14 percent of those in the Northeast sector report eating fruits two or more times a day.