Huntington, West Virginia Named Most Unhealthy City
New York – The Centers for Disease Control has completed a survey of the United States and found that Burlington, Vermont (pop. 39,000) is the healthiest city in the United States. The city is among the best in exercise and among the lowest in obesity, diabetes, and other measures of ill health. 92% of residents report being in good or great health.
The habits and backgrounds of people who live in Burlington may be more important than the location itself. The area was among the best in terms of exercise and lack of obesity, the AP reports. Compared with the most unhealthy city, Huntington, West Virginia, Burlington also had younger, wealthier and better educated people.
The folks in Huntington were none too pleased with their designation, according to the area’s local newspaper, the Herald-Dispatch. For one, they complained the stats represent more than just Huntington proper, and they say people in the area have improved their health in recent years.
The paper noted the data can be pretty inconsistent: In 2005, some 34% of adults in greater Huntington were obese. Then the number jumped to 45% in 2006 before falling back down to 32% in 2007.
Huntington’s mayor, who himself is 5 foot 9, and 233 pounds, told the AP that obesity isn’t a big local issue, despite the high numbers. “It doesn’t come up,” Mayor DavidFelinton said. “We’ve got a lot of economic challenges here in Huntington. That’s usually the focus.”
After the release of the report, many bloggers and news agencies are throwing their two cents in to explain contrast.
Most people are pointing the finger at the obvious contrast in education and employment.
Burlington’s population is well-educated. Nearly 40% of the cities population have at least one college level degree. Huntington, only about 15 percent of the population holds a college degree.
Huntington is a blue collar town, with high unemployment, and many of its jobs are low wage hospital positions. While in comparison, Burlington is the home of the University of Vermont and its largest employer being IBM.
Culture and history are also part of the problem health officials say.
Huntington was once thriving manufacturing community with ast food, and fatty meats being part many diets.
But as the economy shifted, many of the manufacturing jobs left dropping the cities population down to 50,000. Now without sufficient exercise, a large portion of the community are becoming ill — most of which is related to obesity.
“A lot of the patients we were seeing were getting heart attacks in their 30s. They were requiring open heart surgery in their 30s. And we were concerned because it used to be you wouldn’t see heart patients come in until they were in their 50s,” said Shari Wiley is a nurse at St. Mary’s Regional Heart Institute in Huntington.
The major advantage Burlington has over Huntington is exercise. The residents of Burlington enjoy activities such as hiking, cycling and skiing.
The CDC released the findings in August, comparing 150 cities across the United States.
lard anyone?
Where’s the beef?