UPDATE: National Study Ranks Dakota County 8th Healthiest in Minnesota

Editor's Note: Comments from Jim Egeberg, Health Instructor at Inver Hills Community College, were added at 1:45 p.m. Egeberg holds a PhD in Wellness from North Dakota State University.

Dakota County has been ranked Minnesota's 8th healthiest county, according to a 2012 study conducted by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

Neighboring counties Washington, Ramsey and Rice were ranked 7th, 61st and 32nd, respectively. 

"We've got to manage our stress, that's the first step," Inver Hills Community College instructor Dr. Jim Egeberg told Patch as the key to overall health. "Otherwise, what the result? The obesity and Type II diabetes epidemic we're seeing now is the result of our fast-food lifestyles."

The County Health Rankings, now in its third year of existence, ranks almost every county in all 50 states, using a standard way to measure how healthy people are and how long they live.

According to its website, the County Health Rankings consider factors that affect people’s health within four categories: health behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment. 

The 2012 data reflects that nine percent of Dakota County children live in poverty, while in Washington County that number to drops to seven percent. The number rises to 25 and 12 percent in Ramsey and Rice counties, respectively.  

Another section reports 41.3 percent of Dakota County residents pass away before age 75—compared to 43 percent in Washington County, 58.9 percent in Ramsey and 44.9 in Rice.

A third section says 82 percent of Dakota County ninth-graders finish high school in four years, compared to 88 percent in Washington, 67 percent in Ramsey and 75 in Rice.    

A fourth section reports the percentage of all restaurants in Dakota County that are fast-food establishments to be 56 percent. In Washington County that number drops to 44 percent and in Ramsey and Rice, it hovers at 52 percent in both counties.  

"You hear all the time on the news about the gains we're making by stopping smoking. Well, we're going to lose all those gains (by ignoring) obesity," Egeberg said. 

Those listed are just four of several factors included in the ranking system. Here is the entire comparison between Dakota, Washington, Ramsey and Rice counties. 

“The County Health Rankings show us that much of what influences our health happens outside of the doctor’s office," Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of RWJF said in a prepared statement. "In fact, where we live, learn, work and play has a big role in determining how healthy we are and how long we live."