Stats Stat

I love statistics of all kinds. I find them fascinating. I did a google search tonight on which state has the highest percentage of the population that most frequently participated in binge drinking. Living in West Virginia all my life, and knowing the people around here, I figured that we would be pretty high up on the list, top ten at the very least. Imagine my surprise when I saw we were ranked #48 out of 52.

The health care sector defines binge drinking as the following:

"Binge drinking is drinking certain beverages with the intention of becoming intoxicated. For a typical adult, this pattern corresponds to consuming 5 or more drinks (male), or 4 or more drinks (female), in about 1-3 hours. However, these numbers vary significantly based on weight and numerous other variables."

Five beers sounds like the start of a good night to me, but I love beer. It's one of my many Achilles' heels. I'd say 75% of the people around my age that I hang out with are binge drinkers. Perhaps I need to find a new circle to travel in?

While doing the binge drinking search I clicked on West Virginia and was greeted by a plethora of interesting health related rankings and statistics. After browsing down through the list, these stats had me not only thinking about the health care aspect, but also had me pondering on how the society of West Virginia ultimately operates. The term self destructive comes to mind.

Now to highlight a few of the areas West Virginia has a high (read bad) ranking in. These are simply food for thought and I cannot personally vouch for the accuracy of the statistics, nor will I go into a lengthy diatribe about each one of the following quote/unquote problem areas. Each item on the following list makes sense when you analyze it. Thinking for yourself can be fun, after all.

• Diabetes (#1)
  
• High Blood Pressure (#1)
• High cholesterol (#2)
• Loss of natural teeth (#1)
  
• Smokeless Tobacco Users (#1)
  
• Overweight & Obesity Rate (#1)
  
• Resident population with serious mental illness per capita (#2)
  
• Everyday Smokers (#2)
  
• Adult cases of asthma (#4)
• Health care as a percentage of total employment (#1)

I promised that I won't go into a rant, and I won't. I will, however, state the following. If you are a resident of the great state of West Virginia, I guarantee that at least one of the above lines with a dot in front of it applies to you or has applied to you in the past. Go ahead, call me a liar.

-Twiz

Note: I don't want my readers to think that I am a hater of WV. Far from it. I point out the negatives to raise awareness.