Chickasaw County is sixth-healthiest in state

Chickasaw County ranked sixth among Iowa’s 99 counties in the 2018 County Health Rankings Report, by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.The rankings are based on quality of life, health behaviors, clinical care and social and economic factors.“Last year we were number four,” Chickasaw Public Health Administrator Kathy Babcock said, but adult obesity rose one percentage point. She pointed to an array of unhealthy convenience foods locally. Though there are certainly healthy choices as well — the county edges out the state average on food environment but still falls slightly under the top U.S. performers. She said schoolchildren of today have been better educated in healthy food choices than the older generations.— For more on this story, including how the county stacks up on inactivity, alcohol and tobacco use and patient to provider ratios, see the April 13 New Hampton Tribune.