W. Virginia town shrugs at poorest health ranking
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W. Virginia town shrugs at poorest health ranking
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081116/ap_on_he_me/med_unhealthiest_city_1
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – As a portly woman plodded ahead of him on the sidewalk, the obese mayor of America's fattest and unhealthiest city explained why health is not a big local issue.
"It doesn't come up," said David Felinton, 5-foot-9 and 233 pounds, as he walked toward City Hall one recent morning. "We've got a lot of economic challenges here in Huntington. That's usually the focus."
Huntington's economy has withered, its poverty rate is worse than the national average, and vagrants haunt a downtown riverfront park. But this city's financial woes are not nearly as bad as its health.
Nearly half the adults in Huntington's five-county metropolitan area are obese — an astounding percentage, far bigger than the national average in a country with a well-known weight problem.
Huntington leads in a half-dozen other illness measures, too, including heart disease and diabetes. It's even tops in the percentage of elderly people who have lost all their teeth (half of them have).
It's a sad situation, and a potential harbinger of what will happen to other U.S. communities, said Ken Thorpe, an Emory University health policy professor who is working with West Virginia officials on health reform legislation.
"They may be at the very top, but obesity and diabetes trends are very similar" in many other communities, particularly in the South, Thorpe said.
The Huntington area's health problems, cited in a U.S. health report, are a terrible distinction for the city, but the locals barely talk about it. Many don't even know how poorly the city ranks.
Ich bin Ala-awkbarph- Number of posts : 2310
Age : 73
Location : The Caliphate of Zarr Chasmistan, WV
Registration date : 2008-01-28
Re: W. Virginia town shrugs at poorest health ranking
Who wants to have good health in Huntington--and risk living longer there?
Keli- Number of posts : 3608
Age : 73
Location : Zarr Chasm, WV--between Flotsam and Belch on the Cheat River
Registration date : 2007-12-28
Re: W. Virginia town shrugs at poorest health ranking
I really like Felinton. I had the chance to meet him when I was working in Huntington and he was running for mayor. I also had the good fortune of having a meeting with Jean Dean before she was booted out.
I also recall noticing that Huntington was not a bastion of physical fitness. My office looked more like an offensive line than a bureaucracy. Is the Hibachi Grill and Chilly Willy's still there? I recall the Huntington YMCA having been the nicest I had ever joined. There was usually plenty of room on the stairmaster. Maybe that's a clue as to why the city is having issues.
I think Huntington should celebrate this event in some way. The Rib Festival should be sponsored by Hostess and there should be a 5-K, no, how about a 5 meter run. They should add a new hallway to the Marshall Hall of Fame Cafe and call it "Huntington's Fattest Citizens" complete with busts of twinkies and biscuits and gravy.
If they do, I predict tourist dollars to skyrocket into four figures next year.
I also recall noticing that Huntington was not a bastion of physical fitness. My office looked more like an offensive line than a bureaucracy. Is the Hibachi Grill and Chilly Willy's still there? I recall the Huntington YMCA having been the nicest I had ever joined. There was usually plenty of room on the stairmaster. Maybe that's a clue as to why the city is having issues.
I think Huntington should celebrate this event in some way. The Rib Festival should be sponsored by Hostess and there should be a 5-K, no, how about a 5 meter run. They should add a new hallway to the Marshall Hall of Fame Cafe and call it "Huntington's Fattest Citizens" complete with busts of twinkies and biscuits and gravy.
If they do, I predict tourist dollars to skyrocket into four figures next year.
SheikBen- Moderator
- Number of posts : 3445
Age : 48
Location : The Soviet Socialist Republic of Illinois
Registration date : 2008-01-02
Re: W. Virginia town shrugs at poorest health ranking
I recall fondly a time when a man's girth was a leading economic indicator - the Prosperity Curve.
ohio county- Moderator
- Number of posts : 3207
Location : Wheeling
Registration date : 2007-12-28
Re: W. Virginia town shrugs at poorest health ranking
Of all of the effects of the present downturn in the economy, fortunately malnutrition is yet to hit Huntington!
SheikBen- Moderator
- Number of posts : 3445
Age : 48
Location : The Soviet Socialist Republic of Illinois
Registration date : 2008-01-02
Re: W. Virginia town shrugs at poorest health ranking
SheikBen wrote:Of all of the effects of the present downturn in the economy, fortunately malnutrition is yet to hit Huntington!
Pastafarianism has ruint our state's health! VIVA LA ANTE-PASTAFARIANISTAS!
Keli- Number of posts : 3608
Age : 73
Location : Zarr Chasm, WV--between Flotsam and Belch on the Cheat River
Registration date : 2007-12-28
Ich bin Ala-awkbarph- Number of posts : 2310
Age : 73
Location : The Caliphate of Zarr Chasmistan, WV
Registration date : 2008-01-28
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