Addressing Health Disparities

Drs. Bryan Bayles, assistant professor of community health (left), and Walter Den, professor and director of the Institute for Water Resources Science and Technology (right), are partnering with researchers from Texas A&M University in College Station to investigate if certain pollutants in the local environment and food supply contribute to obesity and other chronic illnesses. The research project, funded by the Baptist Health Foundation, is studying the prevalence of polyfluoroalkyl substances and micro/nanoplastics. A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that exposure to these pollutants via food and water can increase the rate of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders that are dangerously prevalent in San Antonio. Plans call for the study’s findings to be shared with local organizations like the San Antonio Food Bank and the city’s Food Policy Council to help craft food education programs and policy initiatives.