Joseph Warburton

I spoke to Linda Rider  of the Board of Health for Washington County. We talked about some of these health trends found in St. George, Utah.

Child Obesity. Nearly one-fourth of the third-graders in St. George are at an unhealthy weight. Within the one-fourth there are more boys overweight or obese than girls. This is of concern because if measures aren’t taken, conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, liver disease, and type 2 diabetes, will increasingly affect these children. This percentage has almost tripled since the early 60’s. They are hoping to begin implementing strategies to initiate lifestyle changes in these children.

Heart Disease. Heart disease has been the number one killer in the United States for a while now. This also has been one of the main causes of death in St. George and seems to be increasing. Again lifestyle plays a role in the increased rates of the disease. Also there is a belief to be a lack of proper nutrition such as vitamin C and vitamin D.

Melanoma Cancer. St. George is well known in Utah for its nice sunny conditions and because of this, there are increased rates of melanoma, or skin, cancer. This is a cancer that develops in melanocytes or pigment cells of the skin. Slow daily sun exposure, even without burning, may substantially raise one’s risk of skin cancer. There is an age association with this as well, which isn’t surprising because St. George has a huge elderly population. 

STDs Many may not realize but STDs are an increasing risk even in St. George, Utah. Young adults have been contracting chlamydia and gonorrhea in record numbers, prompting the county and state officials to take action of facing this problem through a new frank public awareness campaign. St. George is following the Utah health department by targeting young people in particular with its new STD awareness campaign called “Catch the Answers.”

Exercise Because of the climate and terrain found in St. George a higher overall percentage of people in St. George are out doing some form of exercise. There are many bike paths, golf courses, parks, sand dunes, and lakes that provide awesome opportunities to allow people to participate in such activities. The city is constantly promoting exercise through those things. Most commonly known is the St. George marathon, which will automatically accept application from St. George residents while others in the state or country have to enter a raffle drawing to get a spot in the race.