Geary County ranks among the worst in the state when it comes to health.

Deb Andres, Geary County Family and Consumer Science Agent, was a guest on JC Now on 1420 AM

– The Talk of JC where she revealed some troubling numbers.

“On the health indicators, we rank 100 out of 101 and on health behaviors we rank 101 out of 101 – now we have 105 counties [in Kansas] but there were four counties that didn’t have the right combination of data sources for it those to be included,” said Andres.

These shocking numbers come from a research document on county health rankings in Kansas, published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

“We’re struggling a little bit in some areas and we’re exceeding in others…although there’s some areas we’re doing much better in, overall in health we’re struggling,” said Andres.

Last. Literally last is where Geary County ranks in those two major categories – but what exactly do they mean?

According to Andres, health indicators are things like physical activity and rates of obesity; health behaviors are smoking, alcohol use, food consumption, and access to healthy foods – are they readily available/affordable?

“We have one of the highest fast food per capita rates in Kansas,” said Andres. “You think about Wichita and Kansas City and Topeka and all those other urban areas and you think ‘Oh well..’ but – per capita we rank very high.”

Andres notes that many in the community are busy and often it’s easier to grab fast food, which isn’t bad – but she cautions the frequency in which we turn to those “fast” options.

Changing your eating and lifestyle habits can be difficult, but Andres says it is necessary for survival.

“The analogy I draw to that is kind of like a root bound plant, at some point you have to change pots and you have to replant or else the plant dies – so change is a necessary part of life in order to continue to grow,” said Andres.

Andres says that the overall health of Geary County residents extends far beyond just healthy eating, but healthy lifestyle choices as well.

“Having a beer every once in a while,” Andres uses an example, “that’s all okay, but the frequency in it is the issue.”

As a part of Live Well – Geary County Andres wants the community to know that there are resources available to get healthy.

“It isn’t just specifically one area, it isn’t just your diet or exercise, it’s wellness across the spectrum from physical activity, to emotional health, to social interaction – the whole gambit,” said Andres.

“We have amazing access to physical activity facilities, we just don’t choose to access them; so we have like, the Junction City YMCA, we have 8 or 10 wonderful walking trails, we just have a lot of good places to go and get physical exercise we just aren’t at the rate that we need to be in utilizing those,” said Andres.

For more information and tips on how to improve your health visit https://www.livewellgearycounty.org/.

The health rankings research can be found here:  https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/kansas/2016/rankings/geary/county/outcomes/overall/snapshot.