A survey of each county in Pennsylvania was recently undertaken. Each county was ranked in a variety of categories, including obesity and smoking, along with other parameters. The ranking was to determine which of the Pennsylvania counties had the worst and best health. There are 67 counties in Pennsylvania. Blair County ranked only 51st in health outcomes and 53rd in length of life. Overall, Blair County ranked 40th in healthy behaviors with 30% of the citizens of our county classified as obese. The adult smoking rate was 18% but this figure did not include adolescents and teenagers, and did not include vaping. This study was conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and I would encourage anyone to look this report up on the internet to see the other factors looked at in our county.
I have singled out obesity as one category since 30% of our county was felt to be in this category. One of the measures of obesity is something called the body mass index. This is a calculation that helps us compare individuals of different heights and weights, for example someone who is 6 feet talk would be expected to weigh more than someone 5 feet tall. The calculation of the body mass index allows us to compare the level of obesity between these two patients.
You can look up “body mass index equation” on your phone or computer and calculate your own level of obesity. See where you fit in the Blair County statistics.
