ADEMÁS

Next to breathing, eating is the most fundamental of human functions. Even though we've been practicing it since the dawn of human existence, we still aren't doing it right, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We are making ourselves sick by the way that we eat.

Unbelievably, 76 million Americans contract some form of food poisoning each year. Of those, 300,000 are sick enough to go to the hospital, and 5,000 people actually die directly from food poisoning annually.

This is the case despite the fact that we are in a country with the safest food supply system in the world. That is why NMSU's Cooperative Extension Service continually reminds citizens of the importance of the way we handle food. At a time when the public gets upset over much less significant issues, it is vital that we make sure we wash our hands, cook foods thoroughly, keep cold foods cold, keep hot foods hot, and don't inadvertently cross-contaminate foods.

Some fear that Americans have become blasé about sanitation practices. In the 20th century, sanitation probably prolonged more lives than all the medical breakthroughs combined. Fortunately, we are making headway against apathy. The CDC reported that concerted efforts to battle the problem resulted in a 20-percent drop in the incidence of foodborne illness between 1997 and 1999. We must stay vigilant.

More people are aware of the tie between eating and chronic disease in our nation. The USDA reports that four of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States are diet-related. Poor diet and inactivity are blamed for 300,000 deaths each year. America is heavy and getting heavier. During the past five years for which there is data, national per-person caloric intake has gone up. And after a 30-year decline, caloric intake from fat went up too, though not as a percentage of the total diet.

In the past 30 years, the percentage of children between the ages of 6 and 11 who were classified as obese has risen from about 5 percent to about 14 percent. We know that heavy children become heavy adults. New Mexico is an increasingly heavy state, too, with 63 percent of Native Americans, 57 percent of Hispanics and 47 percent of Anglos reported to be overweight.

Nationally, diabetes is contributing to 193,000 deaths annually. It is the seventh-leading cause of death in our country. New Mexico ranks seventh among states in diabetes death rate, with almost 60,000 adults diagnosed with the disease. Hispanics in the state are almost one and one-half times more likely than Anglo New Mexicans to die of diabetes, and Native Americans are more than five times as likely to do so, according to the CDC. Still, at least three-quarters of all these ethnic groups in New Mexico report having too few servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

USDA studies give a glimmer of hope, showing a clear relationship between knowing about proper eating habits and practicing those habits. Most people still think it is too complicated to eat right. But nutrition education programs like those we have through Extension can break down the walls of ignorance and practice to make a huge difference in the lives of New Mexicans. In the 21st century, nutrition education may be the lifesaver that sanitation was in the 20th.