March 16, 2022 by Natalie Cochran
Child Obesity Crisis in Texas: Getting Children Insured Increases Health Benefits
Texas has the 8th highest obesity rate for youth ages 10-17 and the 12th highest adult obesity rate in the U.S and it is only getting worse. Childhood obesity results in extra health care costs. A child with obesity has $12,900 more in medical costs than a child with normal weight. It is vital that we get our kids insured so they can maintain a healthy life.
Obesity is associated with an increase in lifetime risks such as:
- Diabetes;
- Heart disease;
- Asthma;
- High blood pressure;
- Depression;
- Sleeping difficulties; or
- Higher risk of being obese as an adult
In addition to a healthy lifestyle, being insured has educational benefits. Studies show that children with health insurance are more likely to succeed in school. Without insurance, children are more likely to have one of the following:
- Lower GPA
- Lower reading scores
- Lower math scores
- More absences
Lone Star Legal Aid has a decades-long history of public benefits outreach and advocacy, including enrolling children in Medicaid and CHIP, and helping them renew and keep their coverage. The Connecting Texas Kids to Coverage Unit’s principal purpose is to help children have healthy futures by identifying and enrolling children and their parents in Medicaid and CHIP, and helping them maintain coverage through renewal and retention efforts.
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Lone Star Legal Aid is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy on behalf of low-income and underserved populations. Lone Star Legal Aid serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines that reside in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties of southwest Arkansas. Lone Star Legal Aid focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety and stability, health and well‐being; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, like those who have disabilities, or who are elderly, homeless, or have limited English language skills. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at http://www.lonestarlegal.org.
Media contact: media@lonestarlegal.org
