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Guest column: "A healthier Texas via A&M South Texas project to curb obesity"

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  • Guest column: "A healthier Texas via A&M South Texas project to curb obesity"

    Started by MC Lambeth

    Please see this guest column in The Monitor by Greg Abbott. Thoughts on the obesity epidemic? What sort of health initiatives would you like to see in Texas?
    http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/commentary-a-healthier-texas-via-a-m-south-texas-project/article_42b85d88-f986-11e3-a6fe-0017a43b2370.html

    An excerpt:

    “In Texas, 20.4 percent of children ages 10 to 17 are obese, compared to 16.4 percent of children in the United States. And studies show that obese children are more likely to be overweight or obese as adults.

    That is not the legacy we want to leave for the Texas of tomorrow.

    Obesity prevention and wellness efforts at the state level — coordinated by the Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Department of Agriculture and Texas Education Agency — focus on expanding access to information and tools that promote better health, nutrition and physical activity through workplace, community and school-focused programs. The Texas Legislature also provides funding for community health resources, such as the Regional Academic Health Center, a campus of the University of Texas Health Science Center in Harlingen.

    I am also encouraged by the prospects of Texas A&M University System’s newly announced “Healthy Texas Initiative” and their focus on the vital South Texas region. The Healthy Texas Initiative intends to bring together Texas A&M experts on medicine, nursing, pharmacy, biomedical science, public health and agriculture to encourage healthy living and improved health outcomes. The pilot program, Healthy South Texas 2025, has a goal of reducing diabetes, asthma and other chronic diseases by 25 percent by 2025 in 11 South Texas counties. Medicaid managed care organizations will also play a crucial role in cooperation with Texas A&M.

    This initiative holds the potential to help empower families, communities and healthcare providers in the battle against obesity.”

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