Obesity on the rise, according to health report
Heart diseases and cancer are the leading causes of death in Polk County, with obesity on the rise in both children and adults across the state, according to the 2011 Polk County State of the County Health Report.
The Polk County Board of Commissioners met Feb. 20 and heard the report from Mary Smith, health educator for the Rutherford-McDowell-Polk District Health Department.
The annual report ranks the counties in terms of how healthy the people are who live there. Polk ranked eighth out of 100 counties in health factors that include health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic and physical environment. Polk ranked 27th for factors including length of life and morbidity measures.