BoCo fourth healthiest county in state

BOULDER – Boulder County is the fourth healthiest county in the Colorado, according to a national study conducted by the Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Statistics used from a variety of national health sources ranked Douglas County as the No. 1 most healthy county in the state. Rankings included things like the rate of people dying before age 75, the number of days people reported being in poor physical or mental health and the rate of low birth rate infants, according to the study website.

The other top Colorado counties are Eagle County (No. 2), Pitkin County (No. 3) and Summit County (No. 5).

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Broomfield County ranked No. 7 on the list. Rural Huerfano County was ranked last out of the 57 counties studied of Colorado’s 64 counties.

“Where we live, learn and play really does matter to our health,´ said Angela Russell, an associate researcher at the University of Wisconsin, which was affiliated with the study. “If you go down a list of social and economic factors, that’s probably the primary difference.”

Specifically, fewer adults smoke in Douglas County than in Boulder County – 9 percent compared with 13 percent, according to the study, using statistics from the national Centers for Disease Control. Excessive drinking is set at 16 percent in Douglas County, compared to 18 percent in Boulder County, Russell said.

Sexually transmitted infections were 125 for every 100,000 people in Douglas County, compared to 229 for every 100,000 people in Boulder County. The teen birth rate also was lower in Douglas County than in Boulder County, Russell said.

Weight was one area where Boulder County residents scored better than those in Douglas – 13 percent of adults are considered obese in Boulder County, compared with 16 percent in Douglas County, Russell said.