East Texans’ Bad Habits Promote a ‘Stroke Belt’

primroselane · #1 01/14/11, 01:45 PM

Where heavy eating and chain smoking are prevalent, where poverty, welfare, hardheadedness and even suspicion hinder access to basic health care, residents die at an average age of 73 — seven years earlier than the healthiest Texans, according to a preliminary county-by-county analysis by the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Black males live to be just 65. And white men outlive black men by roughly six years, one of the largest disparities by race in the state. Indeed, life expectancy lags across most of East Texas, which lives up to the grim medical nickname the Stroke Belt.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/us..._r=1&ref=texas

watcher · #2 01/14/11, 02:06 PM

Heard of where there was a health food store right next to a BBQ joint. The sign over the health food store said: Eat here, live longer. The one on the BBQ joint said: "Eat here, die happy.

OkieDavid · #3 01/14/11, 04:42 PM

Of course alot of East Texas is "down wind" of Houston and Dallas..... just sayin.

arabian knight · #4 01/14/11, 04:53 PM

Anyone ever watch the TV Show Man vs. Food?
This guy goes around the country and eats at those places that have the biggest steak, eat it in a certain amount of time and get it free.
A FIVE Pound Hamburger, eat that in 45 minutes, get your picture on a wall. A Hamburger that has so many patties on it. that not only has to be held together by a stick, and is 1 FOOT High.
Eat a 12 Egg Omelet in what ever time, Eat a 5 pound Taco? Show after show is like this in different places all over the country.
Pancake place that the smallest pancakes are 10 Inches, up to 14. Get 2 of them on a plate and you have eaten 1,000s of calories. Gee how do these places keep springing up all over the country? Because People Like To Eat~!
Even I do. I Live to Eat not Eat to live! Plain and simple and until that mindset is changed and I doubt it will, but until it does Nothing will help the over weight problem that some seem to think is bad in this country.
And those places that offer things like that, are Busy busy busy.
I do believe Man VS. Food has been on for over 3 years now maybe even longer. So people not only like to see this guy break a record, But also want to know where they are. And BTW the show is on "The Travel Channel" Guess that is why. lol.

tinknal · #5 01/14/11, 06:09 PM

I cannot fathom why anyone other than my immediate family would care about what age that I leave this mortal coil.....................

katydidagain · #6 01/14/11, 06:22 PM

I'm about 5'4" (shrunk with age) and weigh about 120 (it's winter so I'm chubby) but I can put a serious hurting on an "all you can eat buffet" and you don't want to see me at a potluck. I've never been tempted to try but I have no doubt I could finish one of those monstrous meals within the allotted time. Of course, if I know I'm going to a "pig out fest", I get so excited I can't eat 3 days before and I certainly can't for at least 3 days after. Calorie wise that probably evens out; I suspect I'm not typical.

**Roadking** · #7 01/14/11, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katydidagain

I'm about 5'4" (shrunk with age) and weigh about 120 (it's winter so I'm chubby) but I can put a serious hurting on an "all you can eat buffet" and you don't want to see me at a potluck. I've never been tempted to try but I have no doubt I could finish one of those monstrous meals within the allotted time. Of course, if I know I'm going to a "pig out fest", I get so excited I can't eat 3 days before and I certainly can't for at least 3 days after. Calorie wise that probably evens out; I suspect I'm not typical.

Apparently, neither am I; 5'11" and anywhere between 130 and 140, no matter what. 4 pizzas and 2 hoagies for lunch, no problem. eat nothing for a day or two, no problem. a solid month of breakfast, lunch and dinner, still no change. I've even tried since high school (20+ years) to gain some weight. nada. Even quit smoking...nope.
And, let's just say that the last time I hit a Pizza hut that had the all you can eat...they went out of business shortly after I found out about it...sorry guys...
So don't feel alone katy, there are others out there...

Matt

katydidagain · #8 01/14/11, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roadking

So don't feel alone katy, there are others out there...

Matt, don't get me wrong; I can "beef up" and was quite so when younger but I've learned to pick my battles. I'm frugal (some would say cheap) so I save up for those times when poor unsuspecting fools think this normal sized woman couldn't possible eat her weight in food.

Ernie · #9 01/14/11, 09:52 PM

Heh. Texas "poverty food" is pretty dang fattening. Used to be those calories got burned off with the manual labor that the food was meant to sustain, but somewhere along the line all of our labor-saving devices started killing us.

Boy, my Aunt Eleanor sure could put on a spread. That was the best part of haying season, I always thought. The men working in the field and then me and my cousins loading and unloading the trailers and the womenfolk bringing all that wonderful food out to tables they set up in the backyard. We'd jump in the pond to get the dirt and hay off of us and then hustle up to the house as fast as our skinny little legs could carry us.

Could be worse though. They say the Lousianna diet has killed more men than smallpox. Now THAT is some seriously good cooking.

TedH71 · #10 01/14/11, 10:12 PM

It's all of that fried catfish and pork meat, lol.

**Roadking** · #11 01/14/11, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katydidagain

Matt, don't get me wrong; I can "beef up" and was quite so when younger but I've learned to pick my battles. I'm frugal (some would say cheap) so I save up for those times when poor unsuspecting fools think this normal sized woman couldn't possible eat her weight in food.

I scraed the heck out of my wife (then GF) at wildwood boardwalk. At every pizza place, I got a slice, and on the way back I stopped and got 2 more from the better ones (along with a few Taylor porkroll sandwiches and garlic knots, and...she asked me if I had a tapeworm! (No, BTW. Very high metabolism, apparently).That was 18 years ago. Now I realize why folks don't invite me to dinner that often!
Matt

Sonshine · #12 01/14/11, 10:38 PM

We're all going to die sometime. I'd rather eat what I want than worry about it. No, I'm not overweight, in fact, most of my life I have been underweight.

ejagno · #13 01/15/11, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ernie

Could be worse though. They say the Lousianna diet has killed more men than smallpox. Now THAT is some seriously good cooking.

Who is THEY? LOL Seriously, our entire culture evolves around food. Whether it's sunrise, sunset, a funeral, a wedding, Mardi Gras, ............................. it's time to celebrate with food. Because we are blessed with a climate that allows year round gardening and great livestock conditions food is plentiful. This is also Sportsman's Paradise. We are outdoors all year. There is not a single month that does not include a huge festival of some sort celebrating our blessings (Rice Festival, Crawfish Festival, Wildlife festival, Railroad festival, Mardi Gras festival, Fur festival,........) This area of the country has made their livings from farming, oil, seafood, cotton and many other industries that thrive between the climate and the Gulf. Unfortunately, this brought tons of refineries to our area resulting in what we've always referred to as "the cancer belt" not the "stroke belt" as stated in this article. Just within 5 miles of my home there are now 7 refineries. All of this pollution is carefully monitored but let's face it, there is still higher than average amounts of chemicals released in a small area with heat, high humidity and stagnant air 80% of the year. There are also a much higher number of women to every man in this area. Hmmmmmmm, they die happy though!