W. Virginia town shrugs at poorest health ranking

[skooooo]

W. Virginia town shrugs at poorest health ranking

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.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081116/ap_on_he_me/med_unhealthiest_city

[Arugula Latte]

1. This depresses me.

I know that attitudes about race are often lagging in this part of the country ... Seems like attitudes about health are lagging, too. And, yeah, I get that a lot of these people have major barriers, but there are ways to be healthier even if you don't have a lot of money. I work out at home and avoid gym fees, but I "just do it" most days of the week. Beans and whole grains are economical and healthy, too, and quitting smoking saves beaucoup $$.

[Captain Hilts]

3. I could never afford to smoke and pounded the pavement for exercise for years. nt

[skooooo]

4. Have some compassion..

..it's treat that you can do that. But not everyone can - people with kids and busy schedules. The article points out that KFC challenges people to try to fix as much food at home as they can buy at the restaurant for $10. Put in the fact that people are exhausted and overstressed, I can see why they would take what is seemingly the easy way out.

[Arugula Latte]

13. Well, I'm trying to be compassionate. I have kids and a busy schedule.

All I'm saying is there are ways to get around a lot of these bad influences ... It seems that the cultural barriers are looming large, though. That attitude of "Well, that's the way my parents and grandparents did it and no one can tell me what to do" -- That attitude is hard to overcome.

[skooooo]

15. I know..

..ultimately people are responsible for themselves, but some education and better choice availability might help too.

[Nevernose]

16. I've heard it termed as "social inertia"

And more specifically as "the inertia of poverty." Fat parents are more likely to have fat kids; drug addict parents are more likely to have drug addicted kids; parents who don't value education are more likely to have kids who don't value education, et cetera. It not only applies to families, but to neighborhoods, towns, and whole regions.

[DS1]

2. You expect them to leap up and do jumping jacks?

:D

[BlueJazz]

11. I believe a Local Ordinance Prohibits Jumping in Huntington.

Causes Earthquakes.

:spank:

[really annoyed]

17. Yeah, that was helpful

I see fat bashing is still alive and well on DU.

[doc03]

5. And WV continues to vote for

Republicans because of guns?

[Whoa20]

6. in this election, race,

which is why I wanted Clinton, as she could have put Kentucky and West Virginia into our column, and because of the economic populism, which would have worked well and perhaps added them into the Dem coalition. I believe she would have won nearly all the Obama states, maybe only minus IN, CO and VA, but who knows. Latinos loved her even more than Obama, which is why she woulda kept NM and NV easily. She would have also won MO and AR, and put up a good fight if not won Tennesse.

[Arugula Latte]

14. Latinos came to love Obama -- It just took them awhile to get familiar with Obama.

Clinton was a known quanity, but when they came to know Obama, they were crazy about him and voted for him in record numbers. I thank my lucky stars Obama was the nominee instead of Hillary; I think he did much better than she would have, overall. That's why I wanted him to be the nominee; I knew he could inspire and harness national enthusiasm and a top-notch grassroots organization. Hillary ran a crappy campaign in the primaries ... So much for "experience."

[foxfeet]

7. Actually not. Most state elective offices are held by Democrats.

[doc03]

9. You're right I should have said for Republican Presidents

locally many Democrats run unopposed but when it comes to national elections the NRA always scares the hell out of them.

[ileus]

8. Better take a look at congress, senate, Gov, and local

They only vote republican president. Everything else is held by democrats. Democrats have had total control for 80 years in WV.

[doc03]

10. You're right I should say Republican Presidents they will

probably vote for Byrd and Jay after they're both dead and buried.

[foxfeet]

12. As in most other places in the U.S. there is a correlation between obesity and socioeconomic status.

There is hardly any public transportation, so people depend on their cars to get around. Spending money on gas to get to a place safe enough to exercise is a real consideration; gym memberships are out of the question for many. In a predominantly rural state, there are few sidewalks and none out in the boonies. You can't exercise safely by walking or running along the roadsides because the shoulders are often absent, with small streams flowing along one or both sides of the road. You'd run the risk of ending up as roadkill, like the deer you'd have to step over on your walk/run. The article accurately describes the traditional local diet, which is hard to change, especially when people equate that diet with comfort food. Many jobs offer no health insurance, let alone dental insurance, so people skip preventive care-- thus no physician or dentist to encourage you to lose weight, care for your teeth and so forth. Many people simply accept it as a fact of life that older people lose their teeth or get them pulled and get dentures instead, if you can afford to. Most insidious is the lack of hope and the knowledge that there are things one can do to improve one's health. Many folks see their health as something completely out of their sphere of control. "It runs in the family" is often heard. There is stigma attached to receiving government benefits, including public health care. Most DUers would be incensed at the LTTEs published in the 'Huntington Herald-Dispatch' excoriating those "too lazy" to work, often written by those only marginally better off financially. Is it any wonder that God and guns provide a sense of control, however false, in a world where you wouldn't otherwise matter?

[Selatius]

18. It's the food they eat. Often, the cheapest foods are the most unhealthy.

But when your job has been sent away by your boss to China, you're happy to be able to afford anything or to have a minimum wage job with poor benefits and no prospects for advancement.