Understanding Health Behaviors in Florida
Health Behaviors in Florida
How do we begin to understand health behaviors in Florida? Health behaviors come from many attributes from where we live to economic status. We all want to live healthy here in Florida but where are the healthiest areas within the state to live? The Tampa Bay area located on the Westcoast of Florida has about 350,000 (2019) people living in it. If you include Saint Petersburg and Clearwater the Tampa Bay area is the 4th largest metropolitan area in the Southeast. Source – www.worldpopulationreview.com
Recently the County Health Rankings Report for 2019 came out explaining that effects of how well we live and how long we live are contributed to where we live. This study showed that the Tampa Bay area ranks in the top 25 out of 67 counties in the state.
These rankings are used by communities to raise support for local health improvement programs, health care providers, Politician support and local community organizations to name a few. Contributing factors being considered are health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment.
Types of Health Behaviors
These types of behaviors are usually looked as a risk assessment that can lead to illness or impede your recovery. Activities such as a poor diet, little to no exercise, smoking tobacco, abusing alcohol and drugs, and high risk sexual activity all can raise your risk factors.
- Diet – If your diet is low in nutrients but have high fat, sodium, and calories you might be leading yourself towards major health issues such as heart disease.
- Exercise – Some of the leading researches in health recommend that you should have 10k steps a day. How many steps do you do a day? With little to no physical activity your risk factors go way up.
- Tobacco – We all have seen the warnings about health issues with smoking. One ad comes to mind about a cheer leader that is now older has to speak with a hole in her throat. The risks of smoking are very high which is why most insurance carriers will ask when getting a new policy.
- Alcohol and Drugs – Tobacco really falls under this group in my opinion. This risk factor covers substance abuse, which includes alcohol, illicit drugs and even prescription drugs. The risks factors are based on usage. Drinking a bottle of bourbon in one night reflects far more risk than someone drinking a glass of wine with dinner.
- Sexual Activity – Not protecting yourself from a virus such as HIV/AIDS among others is very risky. Although not every case is considered a death sentence as it once was. However, it still ranks up there as a high risk activity.
Healthcare Politics
Watch the news, there is a never ending debate over access to care and the social and economic factors. So let’s talk about the most over looked factor by the public, which are health behaviors. In many ways, people don’t like looking at themselves as the problem. Sometimes it’s just easier to point the finger at the President, Congress, Big Health, or even at your own local physician.
The federal government has been interjecting policies that affect your local care and access to care for years. Does someone in D.C. know more about your health and need then your local official and physician? I don’t think so. The problem is that on the federal level there is always a push for comprehensive reform. This is just another way of saying one size fits all, which doesn’t work. They can demand access but time-over-time they write bills that over promise and under deliver.
Location Helps
Location is everything in Real Estate and it affects our behaviors from state to state. We here in Florida get more exposure to the sun than most of the country, which gives us a higher risk factor of getting skin cancer. Florida also has a host of danger with its location. While out at a park or even golfing you might run across an Alligator or one of many of Florida’s deadly snakes.
If you live near good paying jobs and have access to multiple grocery stores you are more likely to have a diet that includes a verity of fresh vegetables. At the same time, your risk factors go up if you live near powerlines or a chemical plant. Location also reflects access to care as someone living in a metro area will have more choices then a rancher living in a rural area.
Summary
Florida that has many risk factors also brings a quality of life, which is probably why so many seniors move to the state to retire. Health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment all contribute to our health and its care. However, no one can care more about your health than you. No matter where you live, be proactive with your health. Start small by eating a balanced diet and doing some exercise. Taking a short walk a day will take you a long ways!
Here 4U Insurance
Here 4U Insurance offers Heath, Live, Dental, Vision, Final Expense, and Travel insurance throughout the state of Florida. Contact us at www.here4uinsurance.com or our Facebook page at
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Shirleen Grebs
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