Focus : Health Care County in better shape than other areas in state CDC: Residents healthier than average New Yorkers BY JOHN GOLDEN

Focus : Health Care
County in better shape than other areas in state
CDC: Residents healthier than average New Yorkers
BY JOHN GOLDEN

Westchester County residents are healthier than the average for New Yorkers, according to county health officials, citing a recent report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

County residents had lower rates than the state average for several key indicators of health, including prevalence of obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure among adults. Fewer Westchester residents also reported “fair to poor” health.

The CDC report is based on 2005 data collected by its Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which measures the extent to which populations are at risk of health conditions related to controllable behaviors. Compared with averages for New York state, the report showed significantly lower percentages of Westchester adult residents with the following diseases or risk factors or disease:

• Obesity 15.4 percent of Westchester residents, compared with 22.3 percent of all state residents.

• Diabetes 3.2 percent in Westchester, 8.1 percent statewide.

• High blood pressure 20 percent in Westchester, 26.2 percent statewide.

• Require the use of special equipment due to health 3.6 percent in Westchester, 6.4 percent statewide.

• Describe their own health status as fair or poor 11.4 percent in Westchester, 16.9 percent statewide.

• Report engaging in no leisure-time physical activity in the past month 19.5 percent in Westchester, 27.1 percent statewide.

“Given the fact that affluence and a high level of education generally go hand in hand with good health outcomes, we are not surprised to see Westchester doing so well in comparison with some other parts of the state,” said Westchester County Health Commissioner Dr. Joshua Lipsman. “However, we certainly do not take this for granted. There are segments of the population in Westchester that do not fully share the bounty of health that many of us enjoy.”

In recent years, the county Health Department has encouraged healthy lifestyles among residents. The county’s Be Fit Westchester Program was established to reduce the prevalence of obesity, which has been shown to increase the risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Be Fit Westchester recently unveiled a new Walking Works initiative aimed at encouraging employee wellness programs, such as lunchtime walking clubs. The Be Fit Program recently issued the Mayors and Supervisors Community Health Challenge, which partners with municipal governments to promote physical activity opportunities for residents.

The Be Fit Program has also reached out to Westchester restaurateurs to discourage the use of cooking oils that contain trans fats. County officials said more than 400 restaurants to date have signed on as “Be Fit Restaurants” by pledging to use healthier cooking oils.

The county also has been working with schools to encourage children to be more physically active through the Fit Kids program. Earlier this year, 25,000 Westchester schoolchildren participated in No Junk Food Week sponsored by Fit Kids.

The Fit Kids Program recently partnered with local elementary schools on the Body Mass Index Screening Project. The project enables the county Health Department to more accurately estimate the number of school-aged children who are overweight or at risk of becoming so and to determine whether there are differences by school grade and gender.

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