Stop Obesity at the Start: Expand SB 1313
Stop Obesity at the Start: Expand SB 1313
The Issue
Of the population of 28,701,845 residing in the state of Texas, 3,073,050 residents live in rural parts of Texas along the Texas-Mexico border (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, 2019). Most children living in the border region are American citizens, many living below the poverty-line (CPPP: Kids Count).
State of Obesity (2016) discuss that children living below the federal poverty line have an increased likelihood to be obese compared to their counterparts who live at or above the poverty line. One’s community and environment also contribute to the increased risk of obesity, such as distance to parks and other built environmental attributes like community design and safety (Gray et al., 2018).
SB 1313 uses recent Texas research showing that our border counties are experiencing significantly higher rates of childhood obesity, putting the state at risk for increased health care costs and reduced longevity in the future. While a productive bill benefiting some children in our border region, it does not go far enough. Population limitations are designed so that the bill only serves Cameron County, the home of State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr. However, all 14 border counties are in need of community building programs that will provide Texas' children with the strong start they deserve. We need to stop obesity at its start, so all children of Texas can have a healthy future.
(Group project for Texas State School of Social Work)
References:
CPPP: Kids Count. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.forabettertexas.org/kidscount.html
Gray, C.L., Messer, L.C., Rappazzo, K.M., Jagai, J.S., Grabich, S.C., & Lobdell, D.T. (2018). The association between physical inactivity and obesity is modified by five domain of environmental quality in U.S. adults: A cross-sectional study. PLOS One 12(8): e0203301. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6117021/
S.B. 1313, 86th Regular Legislature Online. (2019). Retrieved from https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/86R/billtext/pdf/SB01313H.pdf#navpanes=0
State of Obesity. (2016). Socioeconomics and Obesity. Retrieved from https://www.stateofobesity.org/data/
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. (2019). Binational Population Data in Sister Cities along the Rio Grande. Retrieved from https://www.tceq.texas.gov/border/population.html
The Issue
Of the population of 28,701,845 residing in the state of Texas, 3,073,050 residents live in rural parts of Texas along the Texas-Mexico border (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, 2019). Most children living in the border region are American citizens, many living below the poverty-line (CPPP: Kids Count).
State of Obesity (2016) discuss that children living below the federal poverty line have an increased likelihood to be obese compared to their counterparts who live at or above the poverty line. One’s community and environment also contribute to the increased risk of obesity, such as distance to parks and other built environmental attributes like community design and safety (Gray et al., 2018).
SB 1313 uses recent Texas research showing that our border counties are experiencing significantly higher rates of childhood obesity, putting the state at risk for increased health care costs and reduced longevity in the future. While a productive bill benefiting some children in our border region, it does not go far enough. Population limitations are designed so that the bill only serves Cameron County, the home of State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr. However, all 14 border counties are in need of community building programs that will provide Texas' children with the strong start they deserve. We need to stop obesity at its start, so all children of Texas can have a healthy future.
(Group project for Texas State School of Social Work)
References:
CPPP: Kids Count. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.forabettertexas.org/kidscount.html
Gray, C.L., Messer, L.C., Rappazzo, K.M., Jagai, J.S., Grabich, S.C., & Lobdell, D.T. (2018). The association between physical inactivity and obesity is modified by five domain of environmental quality in U.S. adults: A cross-sectional study. PLOS One 12(8): e0203301. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6117021/
S.B. 1313, 86th Regular Legislature Online. (2019). Retrieved from https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/86R/billtext/pdf/SB01313H.pdf#navpanes=0
State of Obesity. (2016). Socioeconomics and Obesity. Retrieved from https://www.stateofobesity.org/data/
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. (2019). Binational Population Data in Sister Cities along the Rio Grande. Retrieved from https://www.tceq.texas.gov/border/population.html
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The Decision Makers
Petition created on July 17, 2019