"Healthy Habits and Risky Behaviors" by Gerry Cernicky

An alarming study from the Health area topic on MSN has ruffled some feathers from the teaching force around the country, especiall , the physical education community. This article was first highlighted in the Saturday, March 25^th, 2000, e-zine from the MSNBC homepag . It can be found at http://www.msnbc.com/news/385975.asp and it contains tables , maps, articles and comments from that site. For a lengthy but informative expose about the State – Specified Prevalence of Selecting Health Behaviors by Race and Ethnicity and Behavorial Risk Factors Systems just click on the complete story link to get information about the health habits of each state.

The opening segment drives the reader to a java script map that can be clicked to highlight each states percentages in the following categories:

Obesity , Sedentary behavior , Binge drinking , Smoking and Seat belt wear .

There is a brief summary of some of the states that lead the percentages for each category which , in turn , leads into the more enhanced Tables of each state. Listed below will be exerpts from the article for those who are unable to access the information :

March 23 — Americans’ health behaviors vary widely by state, according to a new government survey showing that Wisconsin has the highest percentage of binge drinkers, Mississippi the most obese people and Georgia the most couch potatoes.

TEXAS HAS THE highest rate of uninsured while North Dakota has the greatest percentage of people who don’t always wear a seat belt, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reported Thursday. The numbers, culled from 1997 telephone interviews with 134,000 people, also highlight continuing disparities between whites and other racial groups when it comes to such factors as high blood pressure, obesity and lack of access to medical care. The report, which contains data on 20 health topics, is the first time the CDC has collated such a wide range of information for each state on a comparative basis, said the report’s author, Julie Bolen of the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
* Wisconsin had the most drinkers, where residents also confessed to the most binge drinking.
* Utah and Puerto Rico reported the least drinking, defined as having a drink in the past month.
* Only 6.3 percent of those in Maryland admitted to binge drinking, or having five or more drinks on a single occasion. That was the lowest binge-drinking rate in the nation.
*Georgians called themselves the most sedentary, with more than 51 percent reporting no leisure-time physical activity.
* Utah had the highest activity rate at 17.2 percent.
* Mississippians battle the bulge with less success than the rest of us — 22 percent of them are obese.
* The obesity rate was lowest in Colorado at 11.9 percent.
* Texas led the nation in the percentage of uninsured residents, with one in four reporting no coverage, mainly because of its large Hispanic population. Nearly half of the state’s Hispanics — 44.9 percent — said they had no health insurance.
* By contrast, only 6.1 percent of Hawaiians said they had no insurance.
* In North Dakota, 59.8 percent of survey participants said they don’t always wear a seat belt.
* Californians buckled up the most — only 12.8 percent said they don’t always put on the belt.
* Women in Georgia reported the highest rate of having a Pap test within the preceding three years — 92 percent — while * Puerto Ricans were the lowest at 71.8 percent.

The CDC said socioeconomic factors and education levels are believed to be responsible for many differences in health status and behaviors. People with more education generally have higher-paying jobs and are then more likely to have health insurance and use the health care system.

The survey is obviously limited by how honest survey participants were. For example, obesity rates were calculated based on how tall and heavy people described themselves.

"I would guess that plenty of us minimize our weight. I doubt anybody’s going to tell you they weigh more than they do," Bolen said, calling the obesity figures "conservative estimates."

Just in a matter of days, the NASPE listserv participants mentioned that an article of this type is inherent to save their programs and inform the administration and community members that an appropriate physical education program would address many concerns. PE is a viable means to overcome the unhealthy habits and behaviors that have plagued our country for years. This seems to be a great time to stand up and be counted for a quality physical education program that promotes a lifestyle of fitness and a health .

Gerry Cernicky