Modesto Bee Article
 Opinion

last updated: May 1, 2009

The biggest health threat in Stanislaus County doesn't come from pigs, as in the swine flu, but from plain old pigging out.

The worldwide outbreak of H1N1 (as health officials now refer to the swine flu) merits a rapid response, but over the long run, the greater health issues are heart disease, diabetes and strokes, ailments with strong links to being overweight.

This week, Dr. John Walker, Stanislaus' public health officer, released the annual report on community health. Despite some progress, Stanislaus still ranks high for heart disease — 56th out of 58 counties — and 47th for diabetes.

Stanislaus rates high among the counties for colorectal cancer, accidents and drug-induced deaths. Cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea, both sexually transmitted diseases, remain high.

Walker noted two alarming statistics from the face to face interviews:

• One-third of the respondents needing health care in the past 12 months were unable to get it. This can be linked to the lack of insurance coverage and the shortage of physicians valleywide.

• More than one-third of survey respondents were overweight and one-third were obese.

That's why it's so important that health officials, schools, neighborhood groups and families continue to promote healthy eating and exercise.

As for the swine flu, we expect that Stanislaus County will have some cases and, of course, we hope none is fatal.

So far, the response has been thorough and appropriate, including the opening of an emergency services coordinating center. Stanislaus officials are well-prepared because of the effort they put into making plans a few years ago, when avian flu was the big concern.