The article by Anita Weier, on http://www.madison.com/tct/news/255208, covers Wisconsin's decline in health rankings. Although the Badger state is still near the top, it dropped from 10th in the nation in 2006, to 12th in 2007. There are many reasons for the decline. The top include increased obesity, increased violent crime, and a rise of children living in poverty. Others include an increase of binge drinking and smoking. It also uncovered the interesting fact that African Americans in Wisconsin are much more likely to have premature deaths or die from cancer. The top three healthiest states are Vermont, Minnesota, and Hawaii. Mississippi and Louisiana were the least. As a trend, the national health rating decreased by .3%. The majority of the decline is due to the increase in obesity. Does something need to be done to restrict unhealthy foods to stop the increase of obesity?
2 comments:
The article describes negative health trends of both Wisconsin and the nation. Both Wisconsin and the United States slightly became "less healthy" over the past year. The question presented was does something need to be done to stop this trend?Although the common response would be yes we should stop this trend, I do not see any clear solutions. Restrictions on unhealthy foods is unrealistic as restaurants, food producers, and many Americans would be outraged and effected dramatically. This seems like it would be very difficult to pass through legislation also. However, one way better health could be supported is by media influence and more programs that encourage movement and athletics. If Americans are encouraged and feel pressure to work out in order to become healthier, these trends could turn around in a positive way. Although, this might only produce minimal results, it's a step in the right direction.
I feel that I am surprised that we are ranked so high on the list, and are one of the healthier states in the United States. I think that it is sad that we have lowered to number 12 on the list. This definitely shows that are more problems in Wisconsin especially an increased amount of violence and obesity as well. I think that we need to find ways to decrease both of these things. Violence will take time to decrease as will obesity, however I think we can improve the health of those who are obese by getting more athletic programs out there where people of larger sizes will feel comfortable participating in. In general the health of all states needs to improve, but for Wisconsin we can take it one step at a time and make improvement slowly but efficiently.
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