Texas staff writer for Only in Your State, blogger for Power of Positivity, and freelance health, wellness, and travel writer. I spend any chance I get traveling, enjoying nature, trying out new recipes, and meditating. I love sharing smiles, good food, and great conversation :)
Recently, we did an article on the healthiest counties in Texas, so now we thought we would cover the opposite end of that spectrum: the unhealthiest counties in our state. No offense to these counties, of course; we’re just going by the statistics we have found on the CountyHealthRankings website. The factors for the data include number of premature or accidental deaths, pollution, smoking and drinking habits, access to good healthcare and healthy food, etc. Without further ado, here are the 15 unhealthiest counties in Texas.
Unfortunately, 239 people in Morris County died before the age of 75 in the years of 2010-12, which is much higher than the state average. The adult obesity rate is 34%, also higher than the Texas average, and 32% of the population reports being physically inactive. The unemployment rate here is 8.8%.
There were 472 premature deaths here between the years of 2010-12, and 28% of people report being physically inactive. There were 103 injury deaths in Aransas County per 100,000 people between the years of 2008-12.
38% of the driving deaths between the years of 2009-13 in Terry County involved alcohol impairment, and the food environment index is only a 5.6, in comparison with the Texas average of 8.4.
While the food environment index is fairly high at 7.4, 37% of the children here live in poverty, and 45% of the county experienced drinking water violations between 2013-14.
Only 40% of the population has access to exercise opportunities, and 59% of the county experienced drinking water violations between the years of 2013-14.
A staggering 50% of the population reports poor or fair health in Limestone County, much higher than the Texas average of 18%. 49% of adults smoke, and 32% are obese.
San Augustine County is the unhealthiest county in Texas, with 224 reported premature deaths between 2010-12, and a 10.1% unemployment rate. The food environment index is only 4.4.
Did this list surprise you? What counties would you have expected on the list that didn’t show up here? Let us know in the comments!
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