Sun, The (Lowell, MA)
November 11, 2004
Section: Local
Here's the skinny: Mass., N.H. are among the healthiest states
Meaghan Wims, Sun Staff
Some 60 percent of The Club fitness center's members work out because their doctors prescribe it to stave off obesity or diabetes, says Karen Bell, owner of the Lowell club. At Dr. Irving Newman's Chelmsford Pediatrics practice, childhood obesity is "a big problem."
"It's television, it's video games," Newman said. "Our population is getting heavier. The human body didn't expect to have all this wonderful food. ... We all like to eat, but unfortunately, calories come in and they have to go out."
Nonetheless, a new national ranking places Massachusetts first in the nation with the fewest obese residents. A little over 16 percent of the state's population is obese, compared to 28 percent in bottom-ranked Alabama.
In fact, residents in Massachusetts and New Hampshire are some of the fittest, safest and healthiest people in the nation, according to the report, released Monday by the United Health Foundation, the nonprofit arm of United Health Group.
New Hampshire ranks as the second-healthiest state, behind Minnesota. Massachusetts ranks sixth. Both dropped one place from 2003. New England states hold five of the top 10 spots, while southern states account for the bottom 11.
Massachusetts has been in the top 10 for 14 of the study's 15 years, and New Hampshire has been in the top two for seven years.
"Both of these states are doing things right," said Susan Hayes, the foundation's associate director.
The Bay State's first-place ranking for a low prevalence of obesity "flies in the face of the national trend," Hayes said.
" Massachusetts is obviously doing something right," she said. "Hopefully, it's a state other states can look to."
But, Dr. Newman said, "We can't rest on that (ranking). We don't do enough exercise. We still don't eat well."
New Hampshire 's strengths, according to the report, are a low percentage of children living in poverty, a low infant mortality rate and good access to prenatal care. Violent-crime rates are low in the state, as are the number of uninsured residents. In the last year, the state nearly doubled its per-person spending on health programs, to $105.
"I'm certainly gratified by the news," said Dr. William Kassler, state medical director. "But my message is, we still have pockets of need, particularly in rural areas, and we have some indicators where we are not at the top our game," such as smoking.
Massachusetts has a low prevalence of smoking and motor-vehicle deaths, the report said. There's a low infant death rate and good access to prenatal care, laurels that don't surprise Newman.
"We take care of our children in the state of Massachusetts," he said. "We really, really do."
For example, Newman said, newborn screenings are more thorough in Massachusetts than in other states.
But the praise masks the disparity of prenatal care between whites and minorities, said Bruce Cohen, acting director of the state Department of Public Health's research and statistics center.
In 2002, Cohen noted, 88 percent of pregnant white women received prenatal care in their first trimester, compared with 75 percent of Hispanics and 71 percent of African Americans.
The state needs to focus on improving prevention and care for high-risk groups, the uninsured and those who fall through the cracks, Cohen said.
The state's challenges, the foundation reports, are a high rates of violent crime and cancer deaths.
Meaghan Wims' e-mail address is mwims@lowellsun.com.
(c) 2004 The Sun ( Lowell, MA). All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.
