Running head: Obesity

Community Problem Report: Obesity in El Paso, Texas

Luis A. Arnal Ortiz
The University of Texas at El Paso

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Abstract

This report explores and analyses information gathered in several articles which focus in
the research of obesity problems in the city of El Paso, Texas. After analyzing the information, a
call to action was presented to resolve this problem and minimize obesity in El Paso, Texas.
These articles differ from scholarly papers to news articles published in several websites which
pertain to the city or focus in health education. The results provided by these articles were
obtained after several studies were conducted to determine the Body Mass Index of individuals
who reside within the El Paso limits, the state of Colorado, as a mean of comparing population
and obesity between two cities, and the national obesity rate and statistics. Alongside these
reports and statistics, a small section of the report pertains to the health issues obesity can
develop alongside some contributions from the citys health department to combat this illness
and resolve the problem as it is occurring in almost all ages. The results gathered at the end of
these tests and surveys it was determined that the city of El Paso now sits below the national
average for obesity in adults compared to 2009 when it stood as the number one city with most
obesity in the country. Progress has come along for El Paso citizens and with the proposed
solutions it may seem as the problem could be reduced even further.

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Community Problem Report: Obesity in El Paso Texas

As of September 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have shown that
roughly 40% of women, 38% of men and 17% of teenagers are currently obese in the U.S. These
numbers are very high and raise awareness. Look back 25 years ago and you will be able to see
how Americans diet used to be very different compared to todays society. The main difference
is, calories, an average American used to consume around 1,850 calories a day on average,
since then, they have added around 300 or more calories into their diets. This means two things,
either people are eating too many calorie-dense foods or they are just eating too much food and
beverages (Woolston, 2016). This drastically changes the diet of a person leading into obesity
much easier. It is commonly believed that overweight and a persons weight or figure is strictly
defined by genetics and there is nothing that can be done. However, this is not entirely true,
obesity is not treated as disease or an infection since the youth of a person, as many determine it
is just how that person is genetically inherited and with time it will eventually go away. This can
only happen if and only if that person maintains a healthy diet and conducts physical activities
throughout their childhood, which as recent reports show, it is not happening at all. In fact, most
kids nowadays spend too much screen time and lack some sort of physical activity which will
get their body going and help them sustain a healthy life. Overweight and obesity problems are
currently on the rise and can severely affect a persons health to the point where it can be a life
threating situation. Therefore, this problem must be addressed and looked at. In this specific case
study, the city of El Paso obesity problem will be discussed. This report will focus on the
analysis of data in regards to obesity and it will address the obesity problems that the city of El
Paso, Texas currently faces as well as presenting facts and figures which will provide a better
understanding of the problem as well as propose possible solutions to the ongoing situation.

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Community Health Assessment Report

The best way to determine a citys health issues and statistics is by looking at the
continuous reports that are made in regards to the populations health. These reports help citizens
by providing some solutions and recommendations as to how they can improve their overall
health. Most importantly these statistics determine just how much attention and funding is given
to the health department of each city. Once this report has been analyzed one can clearly see how
the city of El Paso is still above many cities in the obesity percentage found in adults. As seen in
the graph below presented by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment,
despite the increase in obesity in the state of Colorado, those numbers do not surpass El Pasos,
which is a clear indicator that there is still more to be done to control obesity amongst adults and
even children in the El Paso region. This situation is also alarming taking into consideration the
size of the state of Colorado compared with the city of El Paso. Colorado citizens manage to
remain leaner throughout their lives compared to those from El Paso. This report also includes
financial data, such as the yearly income of a family, and analyzes the effects of a low-income
community/family in regards to the citizens weight. As stated in this report a lower income has a
significant impact on a persons nutrition as this leads to limited access to healthy food, which
then contributes to an excess in non-nutritious food, fast food restaurants, as well as little to no
physical activity due to the limited access to recreational centers or parks with fitness equipment.

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Obesity Rates Lower in El Paso

As the ongoing obesity epidemic occurs in the United States, some progress has been
made in El Paso, the numbers have been going down, according to a paper published in the UKs
medical journal, The Lancet, which conducted studies that showed an increase in the obesity
percentage in the US from the year 1975 to 2014, this percentage increased from a small 2.6
percent to an alarming 8.9 percent of the population which is around 28 million people.
However, in the El Paso area this number is lower than the national average coming in at a 35
percent compared to El Pasos 23 percent. This are clear indications that improvement has been
made in regards to the amount of physical activity the citizens have in their lives, as well as an
improvement in the citizens diet despite some limitations or obstacles people may encounter.
For El Paso, the numbers show a significant decrease in health problems compared to other states
in the nation. As stated in this report A lower percentage of El Paso County adults are obese
than found in Texas. El Paso County is also below the national benchmark for adult obesity.
(Community Health Assessment, 2013) This is important progress which has led the El Paso
residents to have a better and healthier lifestyle as they struggle to obtain proper nutrition in their
lives due to their low incomes.
Health Issues
Overweight and obesity can cause many health issues, some of which can severely affect
a persons health, some of these problems or the most common ones which typically arise from
this issue are: increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes (high blood sugar), high blood
pressure, certain cancers and other chronic conditions. As many organizations and a citys health
department have become aware of these health problems, some solutions have been implemented
to reduce the chances of obtaining such problems and lower the statistics for obesity in the city

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of El Paso and the state of Texas. One recent approach to improve childrens life and reduce
obesity, which has had an impact in El Paso, has been the implementation of the Texas Senate
Bill 19 to increase the level of physical activities in elementary schools. This was done in 2009
and has been continued up to this date. Schools are required to complete a minimum mandate of
135 minutes of physical education per week, this proved to be no problem for the state health
region 10, where El Paso falls into, as they have surpassed this minimum into 231 minutes of
physical education per week compared to region 11 where only 211 minutes where met. By
doing so it has lowered the prevalence of obesity in 4th grade children.
Raising Awareness
Since the El Paso community has been faced with this obesity problem for quite some
years now, roughly around mid-2000s. Officials and the local government have taken necessary
actions to find possible solutions to this problem as well as reducing these obesity statistics one
step at a time. Actions such as implementing more physical education classes into a schools
curriculum, to having yearly or even semester checkups/tests to measure the students fitness,
after this evaluation students are given the results to see their level of fitness. With these results,
schools can determine just how much physical education classes they must provide for students.
With such efforts, the ongoing problem will be reduced and less people will manage to be at their
ideal bodyweight as they would want to. Schools are not the only ones raising awareness about
this problem, as the El Paso Diabetes Association has also taken hands into action by organizing
several events for the communities in which people can learn more about diabetes, which is very
common in El Pasos adults, how to prevent such illness from developing and the best way to
treat it if affected by it. These events are open for all public, which is very helpful as it helps kids

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become aware of their health at such young ages so that they can prevent these problems in the
future.
A Call to Action
The ongoing problem the El Paso faces can occur almost anywhere throughout the United
States as this is a national issue, the only way this can be slowed down or completely stop is by
becoming informed about it. One does not realize just how easy overweight and obesity can
happen, all it takes is a couple of extra calories into our daily diets and they can easily add up
especially if there is no exercise in your routine. So, how can we prevent this from expanding
any further and possible reduce it by its entirety? It is fairly easy and it all starts with each one of
us. By incorporating more healthy habits into our lives we can have an impact in others as
positive attitudes and results tend to pass on to other people, it does not matter whether these
healthy habits are small or big they can all cause a positive impact in someone elses live, habits
and activities such as, being active at least thirty minutes a day, eating less unhealthy food,
tracking your daily calories, avoiding fast food restaurants as much as possible, and encouraging
and inviting people into these activities to become more active and healthier so that they can live
a longer and heathier life.

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References

Claster, A. (2016, April 6). Obesity rates triple; El Paso makes improvements. Retrieved October
14, 2016, from http://cbs4local.com/news/local/obesity-rates-triple-el-paso-makesimprovements
Mora, A. (2013). Community Health Assessment Final Report. Retrieved from City of El PasoDepartment of Public Health Website:
https://www.elpasotexas.gov/~/media/files/coep/public%20health/community%20health
%20assessment%20final%20report.ashx?la=en
Woolston, C., M.S. (2016). What's Wrong With the American Diet. Retrieved November 04,
2016, from https://consumer.healthday.com/encyclopedia/weight-control-39/obesityhealth-news-505/what-s-wrong-with-the-american-diet-644659.html