Obesity Rate Correlations in Texas

The Unites States has some of the highest obesity rates in comparison to other countries. Overall, about 39% of the citizens of the United States are considered obese. There are plenty of factors that correlate with obesity. Money can often be an issue, but more importantly there is a lack of education for healthy eating. We will be looking at a few different attributes that can contribute to obesity while focusing on the state of Texas.

Texas is one of the states that has a lower cost of living, but that does not mean that it is completely affordable for everyone. This map above shows the percentage of people who spend half or more of their income on their housing alone. If less money is had due to housing, then that means there is less money for food. This in turn forces families to buy less expensive items which is often unhealthier items and can lead to weight gain.

Children raised by a single parent can lead to less money and education in a household. Whether the single parent has multiple children or just one, things can be tight. Not to mention, without the help of a second adult in the house, money may have to be spent on daycare and possible afterschool activities. Also, there is a lack of education that the U.S. seems to not provide for healthy eating. Single parent households have even less time to educate themselves as well as their children to eat healthy.

Many people may not have access or the education to have a healthy lifestyle. It seems easy to say, "Work out" or "Eat healthier", but for people who lack the proper education to working out and eating healthy, how do they go about doing it? Sometimes it seems too easy that we can get embarrassed to ask someone because we do not know. The maps are progressively worsening and education on healthy lifestyle is definitely one of the factors to obesity.

The U.S. health system really lacks in helping its citizens. It is extremely expensive to obtain and if you do have it, it hardly ever covers everything that you need and extra money, outside of a monthly payment, still has to be made when being seen by a physician. This is why so many Americans are uninsured and do not have access to proper health care. This in turn spikes up the obesity rates in many states and counties.