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One factor could be that warmer climates folks tend to consume junk foods in the year-round warmer weather - ice cream, soda, "lab drinks," cookout hotdogs on white buns, etc. In the winter up here we usually consume hearty foods and less of the typical commercial summer stuff.
Interesting. I tend to think the opposite way--that summer is much healthier because fruits and veggies are freshly picked, so you eat a lot more of them. I often eat just a bowl of yogurt and fresh berries in the summer. Something about the heat makes you want to eat light dishes and salads. In the winter I'm more likely to make fancier dishes with lots of red meat and other cholesterol laden ingredients. And winter is when people do a lot of baking and eat a lot more because you're stuck inside when the days are short and the weather is often bad.
The minute Utahns get all cocky about not drinking alcohol nor smoking
cigarettes, I bring up the fact that diabetes is out of control here and is only
going to get worse. Dietary habits here are abominable. Substituting sugar and
fat abuse for alcohol is hardly a win.
And... MATERNAL DEATHS are high. That means prenatal care is being ignored.
Not good - for the mom or the baby.
STD rates are also bad (94% increase in syphillis) - no sex education either
at home OR at school is to blame for that - thank the state legislature for that
lovely fact.
I will agree that no state is perfect and there is always room for improvement. However, I believe your post should be addressed.
1. Utah's overall rank it terms of being a healthy state has been between #5 and #7 in the last couple of years. Not perfect, but pretty darn good overall.
2. The very article you cite references that Utah is doing very well in some areas indeed. As previously mentioned smoking rates are very low.
3. Syphilis rates may be high, but gonnorrhea rates are low.
4. You mention the legislature passed a bill prohibiting some types of sex education. You fail to mention that the Governor, Gary Herbert, vetoed this bill. It is not law. My daughter attends Health Class in 8th Grade and I can promise you that the curriculum being taught her about these issues is very comprehensive (as it should be)
5. The high diabetes rate should be a cause for concern. However, diabetes is climbing at alarming proportions, everywhere in this country.
The other major factor in Utah's overall rank as a "healthy state" is the fact that in the mountain states there are more opportunities for people to lead an active, outdoor lifestyle. I have four hiking trails in the mountains that I can use that are less than ten minutes from my home. Our state has five national parks. I have three ski resorts that are less than one hour away from where I live too. Skiing may not be a good activity for the elderly, but I intend to keep doing it as long as I can.
Vermont? Really? Gee, I just got back from Vermont and was literally shocked at the obesity and morbid obesity that I saw. Yikes! I have never seen so many people using those motorized carts before, in one store I saw 7 of them being used. Yes, I counted. They were ALL obese. Also, my mother, she lives in Montpelier, says that Vermont has one of the worse carbon footprints. I can attest to that as I spent sooooooooooooo much time driving to everything. Nothing was convienent and it still wouldn't be even if you lived in town. You still had to drive all over to buy things you needed. I never thought about it when I lived there in my teens and early 20's... as a 60yr old, I noticed so many different things through older eyes.
We stopped at a grocery store and when we came out the SUV next to us was running and empty. I noted this to my mother and she said it happens all the time and she was furious about it. It seems when the weather is hot, it did hit 90, people will leave their cars running with the AC on while they go into stores. crazy. Yes, this isn't about personal health but it will affect it in the long run... with rotten air.
Also, I think people are out and about more in the cold places than the hot ones, overall. The hot places feature people clinging to air conditioned environments a good part of the year.
AC wipes me out, with its drying effect. Then you step outside and wham!
The first 22 years of my life in Wisconsin - I pretty much hibernated in winter. And that means from early November through the end of March - sometimes into April.
Not what I would call a healthy lifestyle. Add to that the German/Swiss/Scandinavian/Irish food of my heritage.... and what have you got? Unhealthy lifestyle.
It was a bone-chilling cold. With snow that never went away....and turned brown and dirty and slushy in the streets.
Then I moved out west - and my whole demeanor towards winter changed. I was almost GIDDY - when I spent my first Christmas in the Bay Area - and it was 75 degrees. While it seemed unnatural - it was freeing to be outside not freezing my ass off.
Moderating those temperatures when we moved to the Northern Rockies. Snow just doesn't stay on the ground here. It melts fast. So much so that if wait long enough we won't have to shovel it.
It's cold - but a dry cold. SOMETIMES OK enough to venture outdoors.
But I've become a wimp in my young/old age. I want to be able to access the cold at my own whim - i.e., drive to it.
Thus - the desire to live in California again.
We need a cold fix? Drive to Yosemite, or Mammoth.
The first 22 years of my life in Wisconsin - I pretty much hibernated in winter. And that means from early November through the end of March - sometimes into April.
OMG - I would ice skate and sled every winter, as a kid. We never stayed inside in the winter. Snowsuits, mittens, scarfs, boots. Got a picture of the snowstorm of '48 - reached the top of the playhouse in our backyard - with a huge snowman. Had to dig a tunnel across the road to go to the neighbors.
I did a ton of ice skating as a teenager - got pretty good at it. Took up snow skiing before I married. When son was about 10 or so, he began snow skiing, too. We've always lived a block from a public park, which has a great hill for sledding, and a pond and pavilion for winter skating. When my son was small into his teens, we took weekend skiing bus trips for years with other families who had kids his age.
Maybe dry, warm weather (not above 75) would be OK. But, any hotter than that - forget about it. MLB, you left WI too soon. Winters here, as I said earlier, are nonwinters now. It's never that cold anymore that you can't take a couple mile walk. Snowfalls aren't particularly serious anymore, either, doesn't seem. I consider our cold weather an invigorating gift.
Yesterday and today it's mid-60s, sunny, and dry. All my doors and windows are open. Perfect. If summer would stay this way, I would be a happy camper. Few years ago, it did. Used the A/C maybe twice. Last year was godawful. Couldn't leave the house in that heat and humidity - went on too long. Now that IS unhealthy.
Hope the mid-60's weather - which is expected to last for another ten days at least - is a harbinger of that great cool summer we had a few years ago.
I know from growing up here and now conversations with neighbors, we look forward to the soups and stews from fall to spring and salads when it gets warm. Pretty healthy eating.
"All about" good medical care? Well, no. It's also about good life-long health habits. Smoking rates vary by state and region for one thing. They also vary dramatically by educational level. Good oral hygiene (brushing and flossing) affects the rest of the body, and it is something which is taught at home to children. If oral hygiene is not practiced at home, many people never get in the habit, much to their own detriment. The picture cannot be reduced to a single variable.
I agree with you there. In general, Utah scores very high on most health indexes; Nevada is usually among the lowest. The difference is not the weather. It is the lifestyle that the residents adopt.
Utans drink less, smoke less, have a more solid family and social structure and the like.
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