The Tri-State has been singled out this week as the most unhealthy metro area in the country in an Associated Press article that has appeared online and in newspapers across the country.

The ranking was based on information compiled by the Centers For Disease Control based on surveys done by state health departments that look at a wide range of health statistics and risk factors -- from obesity and exercise to smoking and health insurance coverage. The CDC does not intend for the information to be used to rank one area over another, but that is true of crime statistics and much of the demographic information that is used for the "best places," "worst places" ratings we read about every year.

Communities tend to tout the good rankings and try to ignore the bad ones.

While many may feel our distinction of "most unhealthy" is unfair, inaccurate or even mean-spirited, it certainly should not be ignored.

These statistics look at the Huntington-Ashland metropolitan area, which is composed of Cabell and Wayne counties in West Virginia, Boyd and Greenup counties in Kentucky and Lawrence County, Ohio. Health officials and the medical community in all of our areas are well aware of the unhealthy habits, problems with prenatal care and high incidence of diabetes and other diseases in our region.

In other words, the statistics that led to this rating are nothing new. Our area ranks poorly on these health risk factors every year.

What happened with the 2006 numbers was just an uptick in a few categories, including the percentage of adults who are considered obese. In 2005, the rate for the Tri-State was 34.2 percent, among the highest rates in the country. Then, in the 2006 surveys, that rate jumped to 45.3 percent, 10 points higher than any other metro area in the country. The 2007 survey placed Huntington-Ashland back down at 32.4 percent -- still among the highest rates in the country, but not "off the charts."

The numbers are developed from telephone surveys that ask people their height and weight and a number of other health-related questions. A spokesperson for the CDC acknowledges that the numbers can go up and down according to sample size and any number of other factors. Also, the information for the Tri-State counties would come from three different state health departments, all of which might handle the survey a little differently.

So maybe Huntington-Ashland does not actually hold the undisputed title for most overweight metro area in the country. But before you reach for a celebratory honey bun, please remember that on the whole, our statistics are pretty scary. And if we want to steer clear of these unflattering distinctions in the future, we need to improve the numbers.

The good news is a lot of people in our area are working on that, from exercise initiatives to public efforts to extend health insurance to the uninsured working poor.

But there is a lot of work to do, both in our individual lifestyles and in our public policy. Let's hope we can make some progress.

AP Video

Jeremy McKnight/For The Herald-Dispatch

Marshall University employees, students and supporters participated in the WalkItUp! campaign on April 8. Marshall had a one-mile walk to help the community-wide program reduce the area's obesity rate.

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