These counties are the healthiest in NC, study says. What makes them so healthy?
The healthiest people in North Carolina seem to be concentrated in the Triangle, a study found.
The report from SmartAsset found and ranked the healthiest counties in the country and in each state based on a number of factors including behaviors and access to care.
Orange County came out as the healthiest in North Carolina, the report found.
Two other Triangle counties, Wake and Durham, placed in second and third, respectively. Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte, came in at No. 6 in the state.
Researchers ranked the counties based on their “premature death rate,” health behaviors and access to health care.
The health behaviors analyzed were the percentage of adult smokers, the percentage of obese adults and the percentage of adults who say they binge drink, the report says.
Premature death rates were based on the number of people per 100,000 who die before age 75, the report says. Access to health care was measured by the number of primary care doctors per 100,000 people and the percentage of people who are uninsured.
The three factors were then averaged, with length of life weighted the heaviest and access to health care weighted the least, the report says.
The healthiest place in the country was Marin, California, which got a score of 100.
Orange County ended up with a score of 86.79, the report says. It has a premature death rate of 4,527 per 100,000. Additionally, 14.2 percent of adults smoke, 24.8 percent are obese and 20.6 percent report excessive drinking.
The county has 188 primary care physicians per 100,000 people and 10.2 percent of people are uninsured.
Wake County wasn’t far behind, with a score of 85.13, the report says. It fared better in every category except for the premature death rate, which was 4,651 per 100,000, and the number of physicians per 100,000, which was 86.
Durham County had a higher premature death rate, higher percentage of adult smokers and obese adults and a higher rate of uninsured people than Wake or Durham, the report says. But it had a lower percentage of adults who report excessive drinking, 17.2 percent, and had 119 physicians per 100,000 people.
The three counties were healthier in most categories than the state overall.
North Carolina has a premature death rate of 8,721 and an uninsured rate of 13.4 percent, the report says. 18.7 percent of adults smoke, 32 percent are obese and 16.1 percent report excessive drinking. There are 53 physicians per 100,000 people.
Other counties that were among the 10 healthiest in North Carolina were Buncombe, Chatham, Watauga, Union, Polk and Dare , the report says.
