Bad Diets, Smoking Cause East Texans to Die Young
Coming Sunday: On the Mexico border, some of the state's longest life spans.
The proof of Anderson County’s live-hard, die-young culture is in the bread pudding — and the all-you-can-eat fried catfish, the drive-through tobacco barns and the doughnut shops by the dozen that dot this small East Texas county of about 57,000 people.
In a community where heavy eating and chain smoking are a way of life, where poverty, hard-headedness and even suspicion hinder access to basic health care, residents die at an average age of 73 — seven years earlier than the longest-living Texans, according to a ...
Comments (4)
Anonymous User via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Your headline says EAST TEXAS yet your article only talks about ONE East Texas county. ONE county is not a representative of the entire East Texas area. And you seem to only target ONE demographic, African-Americans. There are other races that live here in East Texas, too.
I live in East Texas and don't have health insurance. But I, as well as EVERYONE in this country, HAS access to health care. It's called the EMERGENCY ROOM. And there are also low-income clinics here in East Texas for people like me. And some doctors allow you to pay out your medical bills as well.
BTW - what are y'all worried about anyway? Obamacare will cure everyone in a couple of years anyway with free health care. Therefore, complaining about the current supposed poor health care in East Texas is a moot point.
Scott Kilpatrick via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Christopher, you know, for all your complaining about "illegals," you're part of our nation's financial burden when you rely on the emergency room instead of preventative care. I mean, I don't disparage you for not having insurance -- it's frighteningly common and understandable -- but you should really cut back on your game of "it's the Mexicans' fault."
Connor Kilpatrick via Texas Tribune on Facebook
My God, this guy doesn't have health insurance--could go bankrupt with a broken arm--yet dude repeats a Limbaugh line instead of saying "sure would be nice to have some health insurance!"
The American Right has succeeded in making the working poor hate themselves for being poor.
Nancye Pope
Your editorial concerning Anderson County, that appears to have made the New York Times --- I have one question and one comment.. Did you have any idea that of the population that you quoted being 57,000 people in Anderson County actually consists of approximately 30,000 or more inmates at the multiple prisons in Anderson County? Therefore, the reflection of your data does not truly represent the health problems of Anderson County. Much of the health problems come from thousands of people from all over the US who wind up being incarcerated in Anderson County, and their medical stats show up at the East Texas hospitals.