[env-trinity] California’s Marin County Ranked Healthiest, Trinity County Unhealthiest

[Joshua Allen]

California’s Marin County Ranked Healthiest, Trinity County Unhealthiest[image:
Yahoo! Contributor Network] <http://contributor.yahoo.com/>
By Sylvia Cochran<http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/69837/sylvia_cochran.html>
 | Yahoo! Contributor Network –

http://news.yahoo.com/california-marin-county-ranked-healthiest-trinity-county-unhealthiest-230100198.html;_ylc=X3oDMTEwZDlnbW0xBF9TAzIwMjM4Mjc1MjQEZW1haWxJZAMxMzMzNTg5MjM4

The County Health
Rankings<http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/california/2012/rankings/outcomes/overall>,
compiled and published by the Wisconsin Population Health Instituteand
the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation, identify California's Marin County as the
healthiest place in the Golden State. Trinity County is the unhealthiest.

*What health factors did researchers measure?*

Measures<http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/california/2012/measures/outcomes/1/map>
included
premature death and morbidity factors, which included overall health,
physical health, mental health, and low birth weight statistics. Also
included were economic data and personal behavior choices.

*Which county ranked first in premature deaths?*

Researchers measured premature death
data<http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/california/2012/measures/outcomes/1/data>
as
the sum total of years lost between a person's age at death and age 75.
Trinity County had the highest premature death rate with approximately
10,546 years lost; next came Del Norte County with 10,312 years. Marin
County ranked last with only about 3,846 years lost.

*How do Marin and Trinity Counties compare and contrast?*

A county comparison<http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/california/2012/compare-counties/041+105>
highlights
that the difference between healthiest and unhealthiest California locale
may be influenced by unemployment and personal behavior choices. For
example, 8.3 percent of Marin County residents are unemployed; in Trinity
County, this number is closer to 18.7 percent. By comparison, California's
overall unemployment rate is 12.4 percent. Going hand in hand with the lack
of income are children living in poverty -- 11 percent versus 31 percent --
and high numbers of uninsured residents. Adult obesity is higher in Trinity
County (24 percent) than in Marin County (15 percent). A look at financial
data shows that the median household income in Marin County totals $82,383,
while Trinity County households on average only made $35,207.

*Is income the overall deciding factor in healthy versus unhealthy living?*

This is a fair assumption. Modoc County household incomes averaged $34,579,
while San Mateo median household incomes were as high as $82,413. Ranking
46th and 5th respectively, 33 percent of children in Modoc County live in
poverty whereas 9 percent of San Mateo children fit this classification.
Only three percent of San Mateo County residents reported a limited access
to healthy foods, while 16 percent of those living in Modoc County faced
this problem.

*How do these numbers compare to 2010?*

In 2010<http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/california/2010/rankings/outcomes/overall>,
Marin County still led the charge, but the unhealthiest county was Del
Norte; Trinity County was in 53rd place, Modoc County ranked 47th, and San
Mateo County remained steady in 5th place.

*Why do these rankings matter?*

"The County Health Rankings show us that much of what influences our health
happens outside of the doctor's office. In fact, where we live, learn, work
and play has a big role in determining how healthy we are and how long we
live," the president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
told the Central
Valley Business
Times<http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=20772>
.

*Sylvia Cochran is a Los Angeles area resident with a firm finger on the
pulse of California politics. Talk radio junkie, community volunteer and
politically independent, she scrutinizes the good and the bad from both
sides of the political aisle.*
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