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Monongalia County ranks as West Virginia's second healthiest county, next to ultra rural Pendleton County. In general, counties in the northern part of the state are healthier than the southern counties.
Monongalia County ranks as West Virginia's second healthiest county, next to ultra rural Pendleton County. In general, counties in the northern part of the state are healthier than the southern counties.
I just read this in the martinsburg paper, whoever said that berkeley county was near the bottom of the list in another thread can srick their foot in their mouth, we are somewhere in the middle with jefferson and nearby hampshire towards the top. I guess this comes as no suprise that northern is healthier then southern, but we are still one of the unhealthiest states, kind of like being the skinniest fat kid.
That was me you are referring to. I didn't mean to offend you if I did. There's no need to stick my foot in my mouth though because the list was from Gallup and looked at metro areas. Hagerstown-Martinsburg was the second most obese metro, just ahead of Huntington-Ashland. I didn't lie if that's what you are accusing me of. Here's the list for proof.
Plus, it wasn't used as an example to show that someone is worse, just to show that we in Appalachian have things that we need to work on. Look at the CDC map. Nearly the entire state is red.
Point taken, I thought you just grabbed that out of the air. I am trying to make sense of this and figure out how this makes sense though. Here is an article that states that Hagerstown is one of the most obese cities in america
Gallup Poll Puts Hagerstown on List of Most Obese Cities (http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/gallop-poll-hagerstown-makes-most-obese-cities-list-040610 - broken link)
Not sure if that skews results. Also it says of the 188 metros surveyed, after a quick search there are 366 metros in the US? I'm not offended just surprised.
I was also trying to get full results for all the metros surveyed to see where morgantown and charleston stand on that, couldnt find full results. They said they got those results through phone interviews and results have up to a 6.5% margin of error.
Not sure if that skews results. Also it says of the 188 metros surveyed, after a quick search there are 366 metros in the US? I'm not offended just surprised.
When they say city, they really mean metro area. None of these lists look at individual cities but rather the metro area as a whole. There are 366 Large and small metro areas but only the large metro areas get looked at for such things. That's why only Charleston and Huntington make these lists typically. They are the only cities that are the main city of large metro areas in the state.
Unfortunately though, that's how they get all of these results is by phone so who knows how accurate they are. I can assure you that they've never called me.
Last edited by tbailey1138; 04-04-2012 at 02:25 PM..
They never call me, maybe west virginians are just more honest. Also we have an older population, I know the older I get the less healthy I become. Morgantown has the youngest population I assume, so they should ve healthier.
Our population is younger, but there is also an attitude in local government around here that promotes a healthy lifestyle. Also, in general our population has a higher educational level and is thus more informed about healthy choices. I have no doubt that influences the results too.
Putnam County is the exception to the rule here, but generally speaking as you move northward in the state there is more regard for the value of education in peoples' lives. Those values also carry over into other aspects of lifestyle. I'm not saying that as anything negative about other areas, but it does point to what might be needed to address the problem as it presents itself in those areas. Ignoring the obvious will not solve the problem there.
Even the locals are healthier here. It is a very active city. People here have the marathon fever that is popular in bigger areas. Also, kayaking, biking, and such are very popular here. As you go south people do tend to get wider and wider.
I know some people dont like the results of the poll, but that is statistics for you. There is no perfect way to get such information. This is done through a technique called regression analysis. You need to choose certain factors that are relevant.
I imagine that obesity is worse in more rural areas of southern WV than it is in the cities.
There is no question that in general recreational pursuits are somewhat different. Our local emphasis, for example, has always been on hiking/biking trails, rock climbing, and the whitewater. As you go further south they have extensively developed their ATV trails and the like, and the whitewater is mostly used by tourists from out of the area. Those ATV activities are lots of fun too, but they do not require any where near the same level of physical exertion.
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