The Rio Grande Valley stretches along more than a hundred and twenty miles of deep South Texas.
Diabetes is the third-fastest-growing chronic disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of obese children across the country has tripled since 1970.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of obese children across the country has tripled since 1970.Dr. And she worries about her grandson and her daughter because her daughter also doesn't have documents. Hospitals across the Rio Grande Valley are near or at capacity.
Texas Public Radio's Reynaldo Leanos Jr. reports hospitals in the region are struggling, and doctors say the situation is getting worse by the day.REYNALDO LEANOS JR., BYLINE: It's just after midnight, and Dr. Ivan Melendez still has several hours to go before he finishes his shift at a hospital in Hidalgo County.LEANOS: It's been nonstop.
The coronavirus pandemic has hit Texas hard, and it's been a particular problem in the Rio Grande Valley. Notably, obesity is significantly more prevalent among Hispanics, who represent 87 percent of our population. And about 84.1 million people of U.S. adults have is a condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to allow sugar (or glucose) to enter cells to produce energy. This week, the county issued a shelter-at-home order but is prevented from enforcing it because local governments are not allowed to override state mandates. An estimate 76,000 people in the Rio Grande Valley have diabetes and as many as 3 in 5 of those people will need some form of hospital or ER services. Crash dieting works temporarily, but it doesn’t work on a long-term. Once you are overweight, you’re also insulin resistant.
Local officials had it under control, he says, with the stay-at-home order, masks and other local mandates. On the other hand, prevalence of overweight and obese conditions in the Valley population are about 32 percent and 47.4 percent, respectively.
He says officials have brought in refrigerated trucks for bodies. “Overweight and insulin resistance start together.
Building on a long history of work with minority populations and international research, STDOI scientists are committed to reducing health disparities in the Rio Grande Valley and to improving health across the globe.
“There are so many great organizations in place providing wonderful resources to promote health and wellness among this community. In the U.S., only Mississippi and West Virginia have higher rates of obesity. Texans can dial 2-1-1 (option 6) for information on COVID-19 and local resources on health care, utilities, food, housing and more.