Clark County’s latest health report is out, and it could be worse. From the LVRJ:
More people smoke, binge drink and use hard drugs in Southern Nevada than elsewhere in America.
But we’re not as fat.
The first report on the overall health of Clark County residents by the Southern Nevada Health District was far from a clean bill of health. Southern Nevadans don’t live as long as the average American, and they’re more likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes.
But the health district’s chief health officer, Dr. Lawrence Sands, said that despite the variations from national norms, people in Clark County are largely representative of Americans overall.
One bright spot: The obesity rate, at 21.4 percent in 2005, remains lower than the national average, which was 24.4 percent that year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But the local rate is up more than 3 percentage points since 2000 and continues to rise.
“If we keep going as we are, we’ll probably come up to that (national) rate or pass it,” Sands said.
The rise in obesity led to increases in other categories, he said.
The share of county residents with diabetes and high cholesterol are both above the national average, though the rate of diabetes is down since 2000. And among people 65 and older, hypertension was higher than the national average.
ReviewJournal.com – News – BAD HABITS: Unhealthy ways: Locals indulge
Funny comment on the RJ page: “We’re not as fat because of all the drugs.” Good point. But, as the report says, Las Vegas is basically like the rest of America–only, in some cases, less so.