[Vision2020] Least Healthy County in Every State

[Kenneth Marcy]

  The Least Healthy County in Every State

By Samuel Stebbins <https://247wallst.com/author/samuel-stebbins/> March
29, 2018 4:20 pm EDT


Americans who eat right, exercise regularly, and abstain from bad habits
like smoking and excessive drinking are far more likely to live long,
healthy lives. While this should come as a surprise to no one, unhealthy
lifestyles remain common in certain parts of the country — and the
serious toll they are taking is apparent in any number of reported
health outcomes.

While lifestyle choices can have profound health implications, other
factors, often outside of an individual’s control, can also have a
significant impact on personal health. For a variety of reasons —
limited access to healthy dietary and lifestyle options chief among them
— lower-income Americans are more likely to report poor health outcomes
than those who are financially secure. As a result, an area’s economy
and job market are often closely tied to the health of a population.

Whether the causes are behavioral, economic, or some mix of the two,
every state is home to at least one county where residents are far less
likely to be in good health than residents across the state, and often
the nation, as a whole.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed county-level data on behaviors and health
outcomes from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint
program, to identify the least healthy county in every state. In some
counties, residents are about three times more likely to die prematurely
than residents across the state as a whole.




Source: Ian Poellet / Wikimedia Commons

*12. Idaho*
*> Least healthy county:* Benewah
*> Population without health insurance* 15.8%
*> Population with limited access to healthy food* 16.6%
*> Obesity rate:* 29.9%

In Benewah County, just 13.6% of adults have a bachelor’s degree
compared to 26.2% of adults across Idaho. Adults with a college
education are more likely to live longer, healthier lives than those
with lower educational attainment. The county’s low educational
attainment may therefore partially explain some unhealthy behaviors and
outcomes among county residents. For example, adults living in Benewah
County are less likely to exercise regularly and more likely to smoke
than the typical adult in Idaho. Additionally, there are 521 deaths
before age 75 for every 100,000 people in Benewah County, well above the
statewide premature death rate of 307 per 100,000.


*https://tinyurl.com/yb497ak6
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*Ken*

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