Personal health behavior deserves recognition due to its relation to chronic diseases and premature mortality. Unhealthy behavior such as alcohol abuse, smoking, inadequate nutrition, and physical inactivity contribute prominently to the leading causes of death in the U.S. - heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and injury. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set forth goals for the nation in the Healthy People 2010 plan, and the mitigation of adverse health behavior is chief among these objectives. To monitor the prevalence of the major behavioral risks among adults, the Centers for Disease Control conducts ongoing surveys through its Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Results from this annual survey allow officials to target resources to reduce behavioral risks and their consequent illnesses.
Six indicators are examined in this aspiration to measure the level of commitment of the Dallas population to good health. All are examined with data from the Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (TBRFSS), which is coordinated by the Texas State Department of Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Overweight & obesity: Data regarding the percentage of residents in Dallas County, the Dallas Metropolitan Division, Texas, and the United States that are overweight or obese as reported by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its Behavioral Risk Factorial Surveillance System (BRFSS)
- Physical activity: Data reporting physical activity among adults in Dallas County, the Dallas Metropolitan Division (MD), Texas, and the United States. The data was collected in a phone survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
- Nutrition: Data reporting the percentage of people in Dallas County and the Dallas Metropolitan Division who consume the recommended five or more fruits and vegetables per day, as collected by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
- Preventive care: Data reporting the level of preventive health care in Dallas County, the Dallas Metropolitan Division (MD), Texas, and the United States, as provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
- Tobacco use: Data measuring the percentage of residents in Dallas County, the Dallas Metropolitan Division (MD), Texas, and the United States who smoke tobacco, as reported by The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
- Alcohol use & abuse: Data reporting alcohol use by residents of Dallas County, the Dallas Metropolitan Division (MD), Texas, and the United States, as provided by The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its Behavioral Risk Factorial Surveillance System (BRFSS)