Study ranks Hawaii 3rd-healthiest state
By Greg Wiles
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i was declared the third-healthiest state in the U.S. in a national study released yesterday, but the state Department of Health isn't celebrating.
The department said it's nice to be recognized, but there are disturbing and complex health issues here that need to be reckoned with, including obesity, diabetes and infectious diseases.
Only Vermont and Minnesota ranked higher in the 2007 America's Health Rankings report, which analyzed myriad health measures to rank the states. Hawai'i moved up one place from 2006 as health in other states slipped.
The report said the overall health of the nation declined from a year earlier because more people were overweight, more people were without health insurance and more children lived in poverty.
Hawai'i ranked high in several categories and was best in:
Susan Jackson, deputy director of the state Department of Health, said Hawai'i still has problems that need to be solved.
"We're very pleased that Hawai'i, among the 50 states, is the third healthiest state," Jackson said. "That does not give us reason to rest on our laurels, though."
Indeed, the report shows several areas where the state slipped, including the percentage of smokers and obese people.
"Every state, whether you rank No. 3 like Hawai'i, or No. 43, has its strengths and weaknesses," said Dr. Archelle Georgiou, medical adviser to the United Health Foundation, which sponsored the report along with the American Public Health Association and the Partnership for Prevention.
"The real take-away from this report is that we should take action."
She noted Hawai'i can stand to boost its standing in terms of prenatal care, binge drinking and high school graduation rates.
STILL WORK TO DO
One of the state's lowest rankings in the report was for adequacy of prenatal care, where it ranked 46th. Nationally, 75 percent of pregnant woman received adequate prenatal care; in Hawai'i the figure was 66 percent.
The state ranked 39th when it came to the percent of the population that binge drinks (17.5 percent).
It was 36th in high school graduation rates (72.6 percent), which is an indication of a person's ability to learn and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Jackson said Hawai'i's diabetes prevalence rate had more than doubled, to 8.2 percent last year from 3.2 percent in 1995.
Meanwhile, obesity has risen to 20.6 percent of the population. Jackson said that in 1990, the rate was less than half that.
"Those are two issues that are of very great concern."
It's those concerns and others that led the department to start the Healthy Hawaii campaign, which among other things urges people to incorporate healthy eating into daily routines while encouraging more physical activity.
PREVENTION IS KEY
The $8 million effort includes advertising and education, school outreach and work with physicians. It's paid for by part of the state's settlement with tobacco companies.
"It's too easy to make bad choices when it comes to sedentary living and unhealthy eating habits through high-fat, quick-grab foods," Jackson said. "We need to focus much more heavily on prevention rather than waiting for treatment of these particular conditions and diseases."
She said other concerns include the high TB rate found in Hawai'i because of the many immigrants and limited access to obstetricians and gynecologists on the Neighbor Islands.
People who are interested in getting more data on health in Hawai'i can go to a department Web site at www.healthyhawaii2010.org.
United Health's Georgiou said Hawai'i can be lauded for improvement in the past year, including improving occupational fatalities and maintaining a high level of public health spending. Even cancer rates for African-Americans are lower here than in many other states, said Georgiou, who called the state Health Department last week to find out a little more about what the state does to improve health.
"Where you live and the environment where you live is important," Georgiou said.
Reach Greg Wiles at gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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