Which Is the Healthiest County in Minnesota?

How's your health? Better yet, how's your neighbors'? According to a recent study, Dakota County residents have reason to rejoice: Of Minnesota's 80-odd subdistricts, the county ranked eighth in overall health.

According to the American Public Health Association, this week, April 2-8, is National Public Health Week. Gov. Mark Dayton declared the week for Minnesota as a way to recognize the state's public healthcare system.

"Minnesota's public health system is one of the best in the nation," said Gov. Dayton. "I want to applaud the public health professionals at the Minnesota Department of Health and at local public health and tribal health agencies across the state for doing such a stellar job of protecting our health and improving our overall quality of life."

But how is overall health in Minnesota? The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released its 2012 County Health Rankings April 2. This is the third year the rankings have been done as an annual check-up highlighting the healthiest and least healthy counties in every state.

It also includes factors that influence health outside of the doctor’s office, the importance of critical factors such as education rates, income levels, and access to healthy foods, as well as access to medical care, all of which influence how long and how well people live.

The online site shows a map of the country where you can click on a state and then click on a county to find out where it is ranked. Out of 85 counties in Minnesota, Hennepin County ranked 48th. Nearby Wright County ranked 23rd, Ramsey 59th, Scott sixth, Anoka 34th and Washington 11th.

The healthiest five counties in Minnesota were Lac Qui Parle as No. 1, then McLeod, Steele, Brown and Carver counties. The bottom six counties ranked were Cass (85), followed by Wadena (84), Norman (83), Beltrami (82), Lake (81) and Morrison (80).

The rankings assess the overall health using a standard way to measure how healthy people are and how long they live. The four categories assessed include health behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment.

This year’s Rankings also includes several new measures, such as how many fast food restaurants are in a county and levels of physical inactivity among residents. Graphs illustrating premature death trends for more than 10 years are a new addition also.

According to the press release, healthier counties (those where people live longer and have a better quality of life) have lower rates of smoking, physical inactivity, teen births, preventable hospital stays, unemployment, children in poverty, and violent crime and higher levels of education, social support, and access to primary care physicians. But healthier counties are no more likely than unhealthy counties to have lower rates of excessive drinking or obesity or better access to healthy food options.

Hennepin County has opened online registration for its four-week Step To It Challenge, April 23 to May 20 for those who work or live in the . Thousands have participated in it by counting their walking steps or converting other physical activity into steps.