Cobb No. 6 for Georgia Health
The county dropped one spot in the 2012 County Health Rankings.
Photos
Pdfs
Cobb County slipped from fifth-healthiest county in Georgia to sixth in the 2012 County Health Rankings compiled by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Those groups have compiled the annual rankings of the nation’s health on a county-by-county basis since 2010. Cobb was No. 4 in Georgia in the first report but has fallen one spot each year since.
According to the 2012 report, released Tuesday, Georgia’s healthiest residents can be found in Fayette County, while Talbot County is the least healthy in the state.
The Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation created an index for determining the overall health of residents that looks at a number of medical, social and economic factors. The factors include a county’s number of adult smokers, number of obese adults, teen birthrate, number of residents without health insurance, number of children living in poverty, level of residents’ education, number of fast-food restaurants and air pollution.
Are Cherokee and Gwinnett really healthier than Cobb? Tell us in the comments below.
Cobb County ranked better than the state average in each category except excessive drinking and air pollution:
- The rate of excessive drinking in Cobb was 17 percent, while the state average was 14 percent.
- Compared with the rest of the state, Cobb County experienced more days when particulate matter was unhealthy for sensitive populations as well as more days when ozone levels were high.
Most of the lowest-ranked counties—those from 118 to 156—are in central and south Georgia, while most of those with the highest rankings—1 to 39—are in north-central Georgia.
County Health, Cobb vs. Cherokee |
|||
| Georgia | Cherokee | Cobb | |
| Health Outcomes, State Rank |
4 | 6 | |
| Mortality Rank |
6 | 5 | |
| Premature death | 7,965 | 5,465 | 5,432 |
| Morbidity Rank |
7 | 11 | |
| Poor or fair health | 16% | 11% | 11% |
| Poor physical health days | 3.6 | 2.9 | 3 |
| Poor mental health days | 3.4 | 2.8 | 2.9 |
| Low birthweight | 9.40% | 7.30% | 8.10% |
| Health Factors Rank |
6 | 7 | |
| Health Behaviors Rank |
12 | 4 | |
| Adult smoking | 19% | 18% | 15% |
| Adult obesity | 28% | 28% | 24% |
| Physical inactivity | 24% | 22% | 21% |
| Excessive drinking | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Motor vehicle crash death rate | 17 | 12 | 9 |
| Sexually transmitted infections | 411 | 133 | 288 |
| Teen birth rate | 54 | 33 | 36 |
| Clinical Care Rank |
32 | 26 | |
| Uninsured | 21% | 17% | 20% |
| Primary care physicians | 1,024:1 | 1,946:1 | 1,148:1 |
| Preventable hospital stays | 68 | 67 | 63 |
| Diabetic screening | 83% | 86% | 84% |
| Mammography screening | 66% | 66% | 68% |
| Social, Economic Factors Rank |
6 | 10 | |
| High school graduation | 81% | 82% | 87% |
| Some college | 58% | 69% | 72% |
| Unemployment | 10.20% | 8.90% | 9.70% |
| Children in poverty | 25% | 12% | 20% |
| Inadequate social support | 21% | 14% | 17% |
| Children in single-parent households | 36% | 20% | 28% |
| Violent crime rate | 470 | 87 | 322 |
| Physical Environment Rank |
33 | 144 | |
| Air pollution-particulate matter days | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Air pollution-ozone days | 12 | 6 | 26 |
| Access to recreational facilities | 8 | 13 | 10 |
| Limited access to healthy foods | 10% | 10% | 7% |
| Fast food restaurants | 50% | 43% | 49% |
| Source: County Health Ranking 2012 | |||
Keep up with all the news you care about by subscribing to our free email newsletter, liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.
