Health Assessment: Wayne County Needs to Lighten Up, Exercise More, Smoke Less

Wayne County residents need to lose weight, exercise more and stop smoking.

That’s according to the results of the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, an annual assessment based on a  collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute that assesses the overall health of every county in country.

Wayne County spokeswoman Mary Mazur told The Press & Guide that the results, based on data from 2012, aren’t a big surprise. Data from Detroit are included in the rankings and that “really affects it.”

“It’s a large population that has faced many different challenges,” Mazure said. “”Lack of employment and lack of health coverage; that all plays a factor.”

Statistics for out-county communities weren’t immediately available.

Here are some of the statistics from the assessment:

• 10,263 births were considered premature.
• 18 percent of Wayne County residents are in poor or fair health.
• 10.5 percent of children were born with low birth weights.
• 34 percent of county residents are obese.
• 21 percent of adults in the county smoke.
• 17 percent of adults are considered excessive drinkers.
• 28 percent are considered physically inactive.