gethealthy

Well I’ve just been informed that a city in my home state has received the poorest health ranking in the US.  Huntington, WV now has the title as the fattest and unhealthiest city in America.  So, what does this mean?  Apparently not a lot.  Even the mayor of Huntington is a bit out of shape, at 5′9″ and 233 lbs.  He explains that here in WV it is not a big topic, we’re more focused on our dwindling economy than on our health as a city or state.

Maybe it’s time to take notice of the health of your city and state now!  Here are some interesting and slightly disturbing health facts about Huntington and the surrounding areas.

• Nearly 1/2 the adults in a 5 county radius to Huntington are obese
• Leads the nation in diabetes and heart disease
• Is in the top percentage for elderly that are missing all of their teeth

Many feel that culture and history are partly to blame.    Huntington and the surrounding areas have long been a blue-collar, white-skinned communities, predominantly made up of Irish, German, and English decent.  The traditional diet in this area is filled with fried foods, salt, gravy, and fattier meat.  However, in 1950 this was not a big concern because many people performed manual labor and burnt off the calorie dense foods.    But as the economy and jobs changed the diet didn’t.

Unfortunatley, an alarming trend has developed, where people in their 30’s are experiencing heart attacks and were requiring open heart surgery.

Some more facts:

• 31% of residents do not exercise
• 22% have heart disease
• 13% have diabetes
• Smoking rates are also high

While the unemployment rate here is 5%, better than the US average of 6.1%, most of the jobs are low paying and offer no health insurance.  Poverty is also high at 19%, which is above the nation’s average.  Here, it is not uncommon to find someone living in houses or trailers in varying degrees of disrepair.

The economy definately plays its part in this ranking.  The economy in the state of WV is very low with little opportunities.  Residents of Huntington and many other towns are often without affordable access to healthy foods.  It seems as though fast food and other unhealthy choices are more abundant and more affordable.  Huntington itself is filled with doughnut shops, pizza parlors, hot dog places, and many other fast food choices.    For the Huntinton area alone, the Yellowpages lists more than 200 pizza parlors, but the entire state of WV only has 149 health clubs or gyms listed.