A recent health study performed by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute ranks Clark County sixth out of 16 Nevada counties when it comes to overall health. According to the findings reported on CountyHealthRankings.org, our home county is ranked in the higher middle range of counties in the Silver State when it comes to how healthy we are right now in terms of length of life and quality of life.
However, according to the report, we are ranked among the least healthy counties in Nevada when factors which might improve the length and quality of our lives are taken into consideration. 18% of the adults in Clark County said they believed they were in fair to poor health, which is pretty similar to the 17% of our state’s residents who felt the same way. However, overall in the United States, only 12% of adults said they were in fair to poor health.
Some of the health factors taken into consideration to determine the rankings in this new study include: smoking, obesity, food environment, physical activity, access to exercise opportunities, excessive drinking, alcohol-impaired driving deaths, sexually transmitted infections, and teen births. In most of these categories, Clark County residents share similar percentages to the rest of the nation.
The major differences I noticed in the study were in the physical activity and exercise opportunity categories. The good news: 96% of us here in Clark County live close to a park or recreation facility, compared to only 84% in the U.S.A. The bad news: 26% of adults reported having no physical activity outside of work, compared to 22% throughout the country.
Our home county did not fare very well when it came to sexually transmitted infections either. Consider the year 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 620 diagnosed cases of chlamydia per 100,000 people in Clark County that year, compared to 579 across our state, and 551 throughout the United States.
The CountyHealthRankings.org study show Douglas County as the healthiest in the Silver State, and Mineral County bringing up the rear. Esmerelda County was not ranked. If you would like to see the complete county rankings in Nevada, CLICK HERE.
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Larry Martino is the long-time Afternoon Drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.
Top 5 Healthiest Cities In The U.S.
#5 Salt Lake City, Utah
It’s no wonder the city of Salt Lake cracked the Top 5 with all that there is to do there year round…between skiing, jogging, biking and more!
[f11photo] / via Getty Images
#4 Portland, Oregon
Although they’re known for trying to keep this city “weird”, there is also a sense of being healthy in this Pacific Northwest hub…for that reason it makes the Top 5!
[Ahorica] / via Getty Images
#3 San Diego, California
It’s no surprise that San Diego would be in the Top 5 “healthiest cities” in the country. The perfect weather year round just gives in to the outdoor activities that create a healthy attitude in this southern California city!
[ReDunnLev] / via Getty Images
#2 Seattle, Washington
Much like Portland, this Pacific Northwest city has a lot to offer in the great outdoors year round. Everything from the great restaurants to mountain biking, clearly there’s a reason why this city is in the Top 5!
[roman_slavik] via Getty Images
#1. San Francisco, California
To be #1 on this list, it took a high rating from great healthy restaurants to “green” living to make this city the “healthiest” to live in. Not to mention, the walking you have to do up and down hills in the city also keep those that live there in shape!
[David Chang] / via Getty Image
