North Carolina Earns Poor Grades For Health

North Carolina isn't making the honor roll for its overall health. According to the 2015 North Carolina Prevention Report Card, the state received a C for tobacco use, a D for physical activity and an F for both nutrition and obesity.

The report uses data from federal, state and local health departments and other organizations to calculate the grades. Researchers looked at things like how many fruits and vegetables an adult eats daily, the rate of infants who are breastfed at 6 months old and households that are experiencing hunger.

“Right now in North Carolina, 17.3 percent of households are experiencing not enough food or experiencing food insecurity,” says Meg Molloy, president and CEO of Prevention Partners in Chapel Hill, which conducted the study. “Clearly people can't afford to buy as many healthy things but just the stress of being food insecure is a factor in chronic disease and obesity.”

The interactive report card also lets users learn about public policies the state does and doesn't have. Molloy says it also gives recommendations for individuals, schools and businesses to get started in building a culture of wellness.

“You will see a section in the interactive report card online of how to improve our grades. For example, if you click on employers, it says that you can create a tobacco free policy, encourage opportunities for exercise in the workday, start a fruit bowl instead of having a candy bowl or brownies in the break room...some really simple ways for people to make a difference in all of the people they are around and create a more healthy environment.”

Molloy says her organization will be working with local community leaders to improve wellness and will issue a county report card in the coming months.

The nonprofit Prevention Partners has published eight North Carolina report cards since 1998 to raise awareness about the human and economic costs of poor health.

The 2015 report card has been published in collaboration with Center for Healthy North Carolina, North Carolina Department of Commerce, and North Carolina Hospital Association. Lead sponsors for the publication include the Jim Long Fund, Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, and United Healthcare.

Follow Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news