The State of Health in the 50 United States
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
Eugene, Oregon
March 13, 2016 1:52pm CST
I don't know whether other countries do this or not, but here in the US, the American Association Association of Retired People sponsors an annual survey of the states to compare overall health of each state's population. The survey weighs things like obesity, diet, smoking, and alcohol abuse.
My state of Oregon ranks number 9. We seem to have a low number of falls and fractured hips. On the other hand we seem to have a high tolerance of chronic drinking. (Who are those people?) I suspect that has something to do with the amount of rainfall we get in a normal year.
Bernie Sanders' home state of Vermont ranks number one. Their hip fractures are down 19%, but "food insecurity" is up.
Louisiana is dead last at number 50, with 26% food insecurity. On the upside a lot of people there got flu shots.
California, at number 29 had a low incidence of obesity, but got that chronic drinking thing going. I wonder if the fact that Oregon and California produce so much wine has anything to do with that?
Anyway, here is a link to check out your state's state of health:
http://www.americashealthrankings.org/reports/Annual
Does England or the country where you live issue this kind of report?
15 people like this
12 responses
@TheHorse (217941)
• Walnut Creek, California
13 Mar 16
I wonder if they measure "variance" as well as "average"? California has a lot rich people and health nuts, but it also has a lot of very poor people, and people for whom a good meal and exercise is a trip to 7-11 following by Grand Theft Auto on their devices.
3 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 Mar 16
Good question, @theHorse. They may. I have not taken time to look at the in depth details yet.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
13 Mar 16
'Food insecurity'?? What's that supposed to mean? That they eat a lot?
As far as I know they don't have surveys like that here - what's the point of them anyway? Do they think that those states with a lot of fractured hips are suddenly going to say 'ok, we won't do that any more'!
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Mar 16
@JamesHxstatic Thanks for explaining James - I certainly got that 'food insecurity' thing wrong, didn't I?
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@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 Mar 16
Food insecurity means that too many people don't have access to the food they need. I guess it pertains to the relative poverty level in the state. The fractured hip part means that (partly) seniors are being educated about exercise as a way to avoid falling and hip fractures. The point, I suppose, is to let people around the country be aware of the general state of health where they live. It goes into more depth than I did here, of course.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (338682)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Mar 16
@JamesHxstatic I took 'food insecurity' to mean that people are concerned that they may not get enough to eat tomorrow or at some time in the near future. They are not sure that hunger won't become a problem.
2 people like this
@MandaLee (3760)
• United States
14 Mar 16
@JamesHxstatic
I am very surprised that Oregon isn't ranked higher than Number 9.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (338682)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Mar 16
@JamesHxstatic I couldn't find quite the same statistics as you did but it was still interesting.
@Mike197602 (15505)
• United Kingdom
13 Mar 16
They may do here but it's not something I've heard of.
Obviously we don't have a federal system so any survey would probably be a national one from England-Wales and Scotland and NI would probably do their own.
I expect the NHS has figures on some things across the regions which could probably be looked up.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 Mar 16
It was pretty interesting. We are one of three west coast states and ranked higher than Washington and California.
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@Cintronwriter (564)
• United States
14 Mar 16
I'm a California native and enjoy a little indulgence of fermented drinks. Lol.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
14 Mar 16
I partake of those beverages from all three west coast states.
@allknowing (135361)
• India
14 Mar 16
We have categories that grade people the last one being 'Below Poverty line' There are schemes for various items such as free food, free medicine and such for this category but unfortunately by the time it gets to them the corrupt bureacracy swallows up quite a bit.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (470823)
• Switzerland
14 Mar 16
We have a similar survey each year in Switzerland, the German part is the unhealthy, the French part is a little better and our Italian region is the healthier of Switzerland. I think we eat less pork and fats and more vegetables and fruits here in the South.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
14 Mar 16
most interestin'. #37 here 'n whilst it seems we've made some progress, i find't somewhat sad that "low levels'f pollution" 'd be the highlight'f it all.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (79386)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
13 Mar 16
@JamesHxstatic here in Latvia the powers that be don't bother with us people too much. However once a year they will come out with a report about the health situation in our country. It seems that the worst situation is here in the capital Riga because it is all so crowded and there are so many homeless and bums out there. Not too mention that we have a lot of people drinking and driving etc.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 Mar 16
That sounds familiar as far as most cities in this country go, @RasmaSandra.
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