of obesity is 29.2 percent among Texas adults and 15.6 percent among high school students.


• The prevalence of obesity among 4th, 8th, and 11th grade Texas students is 23.8 percent, 23 percent, and 21.6 percent, respectively, according to the 2009–11 School Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey.


Key strategies:


• To help reduce obesity’s detrimental impact on adults and children, DSHS collaborates with partners across the state on projects like these:


° The Community and Work- site Wellness Program works to


strengthen the certification crite- ria related to nutrition standards in early child education settings and supports physical activity at the facilities.


° The Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration Project seeks to


identify a successful model for referring children and their fami- lies who are at risk for obesity to community-based education and physical activity programs.


Dr. Lakey says reducing obesity’s im-


pact on the state has multiple benefits, including preventing diabetes and lower- ing rates of heart disease.


Keeping food safe Key stats:


• DSHS estimates foodborne disease causes approximately 6 million ill- nesses, 26,000 hospitalizations, and 400 deaths each year in Texas.


• The Texas Public Interest Research Group reports that since October 2012, foodborne illnesses have cost Texas $2 million in lost wages, medi- cal expenses, and deaths.


Key strategies:


• To ensure a safe food supply, DSHS enforcement activities include:


° Follow-up inspections at establish- ments that have problems,


° Warning letters,


° Management meetings with the firms, and


° Technical assistance. CDC’s top 10 winnable battles


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified the following 10 winnable battles in public health, with a focus on prevention:


1. Food safety, 2. Global immunization, 3. Health care-associated infections, 4. HIV in the United States, 5. Lymphatic filariasis in the Americas, 6. Motor vehicle injuries, 7. Nutrition, physical activity, and obesity, 8. Mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis globally, 9. Teen pregnancy, and 10. Tobacco.


For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/winnablebattles. March 2014 TEXAS MEDICINE 59


• DSHS is funding 13 new epidemiol- ogy positions in 13 local health de- partments to focus on foodborne ill- ness surveillance and investigation, including outbreaks.


• DSHS has increased the number of food inspectors in the state from 42 in 2009 to 63 last year.


“The department is focused on ad-


dressing food safety and is ramping up the number of epidemiologists in the state who can identify the source of foodborne illness outbreaks quicker. We’ve also increased the number of in- spectors and have rapid response teams that can quickly identify and respond to events,” Dr. Lakey said.


Stamping out tobacco use Key stats:


• DSHS data show more than 24,000 Texans die from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke each year.


• Tobacco costs the state’s economy $13.04 billion in health care costs


and lost productivity, the American Lung Association reports.


Key strategies:


• DSHS funding for 2014–15 includes $29.7 million for the Tobacco Preven- tion and Control Program.


• An additional $11.7 million will in- crease tobacco prevention and cessa- tion funding for Quitline counseling services and help prevent smokeless tobacco use among children in rural counties.


The DSHS tobacco program provides technical assistance to community or- ganizations, schools, worksites, health professionals, and law enforcement agencies on tobacco prevention. It also serves as a clearinghouse of informa- tion on tobacco prevention issues and conducts a media campaign to educate Texans about the dangers of tobacco use. For more information, visit www.dshs .state.tx.us/tobacco.


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