Researchers with Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI), affiliated with Parkland Health, looked at areas in Texas with higher vulnerabilities for chronic illnesses and saw whether access to food played a role in those higher rates of vulnerability.
The study found that food insecurity is a major factor fueling the chronic illness problem in rural Texas. The data showed that food insecurity is a baseline problem in 149 rural Texas census tracts. Previous studies by PCCI found that more than 80% of Texas’ rural populations live in areas highly vulnerable to life-threatening chronic diseases, with limited options for care. Researchers said food insecurity is one of the elements that leads to higher vulnerability to those diseases.
Food insecurity, defined by PCCI as a lack of access to fresh food, is one of the barriers to daily health and wellness rural Texans face. Lance Rather, senior director at PCCI, said food insecurity drives obesity, one of the underlying elements leading to most chronic illnesses.
“We use what’s called our Community Vulnerability Compass, which is a collection of 26 social determinants of health,” Rather said in an interview with the Daily Yonder. “The food insecurity portion is actually based on the number of individuals utilizing SNAP benefits in the past 12 months.”
Other research found that 21.3% of the population of Texas reported food insecurity issues between 2020 and 2022, compared to only 15.5% across the country. Food insecurity in Texas, as well as across the U.S., is present in both urban and rural communities, but studies on food insecurity primarily focus on urban communities.
PCCI’s analysis found that 192 census tracts in Texas are high or very high for obesity, and that obesity vulnerabilities are a factor for high chronic illness rates across the state.
Access to fresh food is also an element of addressing diseases such as coronary heart disease, cancer, and high blood pressure, research shows. In a recent study this year, PCCI found that 58 Texas counties are considered food deserts, with rural areas facing severely limited access to fresh, affordable food. This leaves them at risk if they are diagnosed with a chronic illness.
“I don’t want people to see food insecurity as a social challenge. When I say food insecurity can lead to obesity, it’s not just talking about people not having nutritious food to eat. They don’t have access to food. They can’t afford the food,” Rather said. “And it’s like a domino effect. It can also lead to people just going for fast food, or people going for shelf-stable food rather than fresh foods, and those choices can accumulate over time and lead to obesity.
One reason for the food insecurity is simply distance to fresh food. In East Texas, PCCI’s research found, there are only 33 supermarkets, including discount stores, that can address the nutritional needs of the nearly 150,000 residents. At the same time, there are only 182 inpatient hospital beds available to them within 100 miles.
Olayide Olay Adejumobi, project manager at PCCI, said she’s seen the direct results of food insecurity. A dietitian, Adejumobi said she’s seen how a lack of access to fresh food can increase the likelihood of chronic diseases. It can also lead to social isolation and stigma, which can also lead to depression from heightened stress and anxiety. The impact reaches across the ages — everyone from children to senior citizens with food insecurity may see adverse effects on their mental and physical health.
“I’ve seen how non-medical drivers of health can amplify health disparities and lead to adverse health outcomes when quality, nutritious, and affordable food isn’t within reach,” Adejumobi said in an interview with the Daily Yonder. “The people in these areas grapple with food insecurity due to a complex interplay of non-medical factors. This makes solving this issue more than just having grocery stores available in those areas, though that would definitely be a good start.”
Just getting to fresh food can be a challenge for some rural residents, she said.
In many rural communities, transportation is definitely a key issue,” she said. “If they need to go to a full-service grocery store, that could be an hour drive or even more than that, especially in Texas… You might have to plan your life around going to the grocery. So, you might just opt for going maybe once every two weeks. That could actually affect the stuff you buy, like stuff that can actually last longer instead of vegetables that only last for two or three days.”
One of the keys to addressing the chronic health issues caused by food insecurity is education, Olay said. Community-based organizations (CBOs) and community health workers can provide rural residents with information about how to access education and resources that will help them have a healthier diet.
Using the information within the study, community-based organizations can make better decisions on how to most effectively use their limited resources.
“The big reason why we come up with these studies is to make public health leaders aware of what the situation is, and these root causes that go with it,” Rather said. “Part of that is really equipping those healthcare organizations, even funders and philanthropic organizations, with data. We can give over 200 (community organizations) utilizing the tool over the next four years so that they can be more impactful with the resources that are limited for their organization to help in those health-related social needs or social determinants of health, and that they’re trying to impact and identifying down to that block group level where that need is instead of really relying on zip code level data or no data at all.”
The post Study Finds Link Between Food Insecurity and Chronic Illness in Rural Texas appeared first on The Daily Yonder.
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