Bucks County Obesity Rates, Binge Drinking Stats And Overall Health Assessed In New Study

How healthy are we, Bucks County?

We're the sixth-healthiest county in the state, according to a new comprehensive study from researchers at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

Residents of Bucks County, on average, live healthier, longer lives, have better access to care, and live in better social and economic situations than residents in many other areas of Pennsylvania.

To come up with the summary, researchers took data from a wide variety of national and local sources and ranked them with statistically-informed weight. Categories were broken down into two headings, health outcomes and health factors, and analyzed health behaviors , social factors, and the extent of the care available locally.

Some interesting tidbits from the study:

• 26 percent of Bucks County's population is obese
• 32 percent of driving deaths are alcohol-impaired
• 19 percent of Bucks County adults binge drink
• On the bright side, just 14 percent of Bucks County adults are smokers, as compared to 20 percent in the rest of the state
• The unemployment rate here is 4.5 percent, well below PA's average of 5.8
• The high school graduation rate in Bucks County is 92 percent versus the state average of 85 percent

You can check out all the details from the study here.

Nearby, Chester County was ranked the healthiest county in the state, with Montgomery County trailing close by in second place. Delaware County was ranked 35th and Philadelphia came in last.

Nationwide, researchers found that overdose deaths are continuing to spread at epidemic-like levels, particularly between individuals in the aged 15-44 category. Drug overdoses are the leading cause of death among 25 to 44 year-olds, and are the "clear driver" of the increase in premature deaths in recent years.

Researchers said that they hoped the data would help improve healthcare policy at the local level.

"The County Health Rankings show us that where people live plays a key role in how long and how well they live," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, RWJF president and CEO. "The Rankings allow local leaders to clearly see and prioritize the challenges they face - whether it's rising premature death rates or the growing drug overdose epidemic - so they can bring community leaders and residents together to find solutions."
Learn more about the data sources for this study here.

Image of Pennsylvania premature death rate courtesy Robert Wood Johnson Foundation