Although better, state’s overall health still needs work

The latest ranking from the United Health Foundation of healthiest states is out for 2014 and for the first time in 25 years, West Virginia has come up off the bottom.  West Virginia ranked 44th in overall health for the year.

“It’s certainly something to celebrate,” said Dr. Rhonda Randall, chief medical officer for United Retiree Solutions and adviser to the United Health Foundation, “Last year you were ranked 46th and 25 years ago when we began this report, you were ranked 48th. It’s a slow, but steady increase.”

Despite the improved ranking, Randall said the state still has a lot of ground to cover.  The overall ranking was improved by three main factors.

“You’re ranked #1 in infectious disease and #2 in low prevalence of binge drinking and a high per capita of public health funding,” Randall said. “It really wasn’t a silver bullet that led West Virginia to move up in ranking.”

However, the most notorious health problems in West Virginia continue to be major contributing factors to the state’s problems.  West Virginia ranked #50 for smoking with 27 percent of the state’s adult population.  Obesity continues to be a problem with 35 percent of the state’s adults reporting they are obese which ranked 49th.   The state’s inactivity continues to be a problem as well.  West Virginia was 46th in that category with 31 percent of the state’s adults surveyed indicating they have no physical activity outside of their everyday lives.

“We need to focus on prevention. Where we’ve done a good job with public health and clinical job now we need to do a better job of preventing chronic disease,” Randall said. “That really is in the hands of individuals and the communities where they live to create that healthier environment.”