Are wenzels making New Haven unhealthy?

According to a recent study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute, New Haven is the unhealthiest county in the state.

Julie Willems Van Dijk, scientist for the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, told newstimes.com that just because a state is healthy overall, doesn’t mean that there aren’t regions within a state that need improvement.

“It’s sort of like a yearly medical checkup,” she said.

It seems New Haven’s diagnosis is not looking good. According to this year’s report, New Haven County scored poorly in several areas. Thirteen percent of New Haven County residents said that they are in poor or fair health, 2 percent more than the 11 percent for all Connecticut residents.

New Haven County also scored worse than the national average on many factors, including premature death rates, smoking, sexually transmitted disease, and diabetic and mammography screening rates.

But it seems that the county’s ranking is not due to lack of access to healthy food. The study found that 98 percent of zip codes within New Haven County had access to a “healthy food outlet,” described as a grocery store, produce stand or farmers’ market. This rate is the highest in the entire state, which according to an America’s Health Rankings report, is the fourth healthiest state in the nation.

The article said that “the report aims to spotlight where problem areas are in a state.”

Guess New Haven is a problem area. This is terrific news for the parents of newly admitted Yalies.

[via newstimes.com, New Haven Independent]