The five community health priorities in St. Mary’s County are: obesity, tobacco use, infant mortality, child abuse and the physician shortage. Those five issues were identified in a Community Health Needs Assessment unveiled Tuesday by the county’s Community Health Advisory Committee. The results were released during a meeting of the county commissioners sitting as the St. Mary’s Country Board of Health.

The meeting was conducted by St. Mary’s County Health Officer Dr. William Icenhower. The health assessment was presented by Dr. Larry Polsky, the committee’s chairman. The assessment was compiled through the review of demographic and health data, more than a thousand telephone surveys, in person interviews and focus group discussions.
According to Dr. Polsky, the death rates from heart disease and cancer, both linked to obesity and tobacco use, are higher in St. Mary’s than the state average.
More than a million adults in Maryland are obese, a 55-percent increase in 10 years. St. Mary’s County has the seventh highest obesity rate in Maryland, with more than 70 percent of county adults overweight or obese. That’s 12.8 percent above the state average.
According to the report, 40 percent of adults report they participate in sufficient activity to improve health, yet only four percent actually do. Physical activity declines by one-third between the ages of 9 and 15.
In the U.S. 35 percent of children are overweight or obese. In the past 30 years the percentage of obese children in the country between the ages of 2 and 5 has tripled and between the ages of 6 and 11 it has quadrupled. And, 80 percent of obese children will continue to be obese by age 25. Obese children have higher rates of diabetes, sleep apnea, depression, and tobacco/alcohol use than healthy-weight children.
According to statistics, 27 percent of 17-24 year olds, which is more than nine million people, are ineligible to join the military because of obesity.
The advisory committee helped create a community coalition to fight obesity and promote improved fitness. The coalition is called “Fit and Healthy St. Mary’s.” They are holding a Health and Fitness Expo on May 20th at Chancellor’s Run Park.
Although the smoking rate has declined over the past 20 years, the smoking rate in St. Mary’s County is higher than the state rate: 19.5 percent vs. 15.2 percent.
The St. Mary’s County Department of Health continues to offer smoking cessation courses. Nicotine patches and FDA approved medication are made available free of charge to the participants. Funding, however, limits the number of courses than can be offered every year.
The infant mortality numbers in St. Mary’s County are relatively low, although an increase of just one death can skew the county’s relative rating, according to Dr. Icenhower The increase in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome incidents is a little disco

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