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.

Read the full article about food insecurity and chronic illness by Liz Carey at The Daily Yonder.