Gov. Jindal's (former doctor) state - the unhealthiest in US

[varun]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081204/us_nm/us_rankings_usa

Vermont called healthiest state, Louisiana last

...Many Southern states were clustered near the bottom of the rankings. The region has some of the highest rates of obesity, which contributes to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some types of cancer, as well as high rates of smoking, which causes cancer, lung disease, heart disease and other problems.

One in five Louisianians lacked health insurance, while 31 percent were obese. It also suffers from high child poverty, infant mortality, premature death rate and cancer deaths, according to the report.

"We've just not made any improvement in the overall healthiness of the nation," said Dr. Reed Tuckson of UnitedHealth Group Inc, the largest U.S. health insurer, and the private United Health Foundation...

[dmallind]

1. Be careful

If some people around here are intellectually consistent and apply the same standards as they do to criticism of Eric Holder then you are being racist.

Of course, you obviously aren't. And there's not much chance of consistency either, but still worth pointing out.

I had somehow missed the fact that he was a doctor too. Thanks for that datum.

[hlthe2b]

3. He was NOT and IS NOT a physician.

[dmallind]

6. Now that might explain why I hadn't heard it

Frankly I have no position on the issue - I just had no clue and it was mentioned in the OP. BUt then again I have no idea what most governors did before they entered politics.

[hughee99]

4. That's okay

Jindal's been governor for almost a year. It's unbelievable that he hasn't fixed this problem by now. :sarcasm:

To be intellectually consistent, we'd have to be prepared to criticize Obama for all the things he hasn't fixed yet (or that he doesn't fix in the first year), and you can already see that criticism from some.

[KamaAina]

13. He was a biology major, not a doctor

but that certainly doesn't explain why he's pushing creationism in the Gret Stet's schools. :eyes:

[hlthe2b]

2. Huh? Jindal was never a physician....

Although he had thought of a career in medicine or law and was accepted by Harvard Medical School and Yale Law School, he chose to pursue a political career. He received a master's degree in political science from New College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar.

After Oxford, he joined McKinsey & Company, a consulting firm, where he advised Fortune 500 companies. (Wiki entry)

[RB TexLa]

5. Funny, I'm taking a cigarette and coffee break from making my turkey gumbo

Just got through making sure I get enough fat from the turkey for it. After I smoke I'll start on the reux, you know lard and flour cooked till brown. Not butter or vegetable oil, lard.

Hope the Vermonters enjoy the extra few years of their lives.

[cali]

8. you'd be surprised how good the food is here

even in my dinky, dinky town we've got a really good restaurant. And that's true of a lot of small towns in Vermont.

http://www.clairesvt.com/

[RB TexLa]

9. I'm sure it's fine. I had great seafood in some small town in Maine a few years ago

Lobster right off the boat.

[Buzz Clik]

7. One might get the impression that you're assigning cause and effect:

Surely you don't believe that Louisiana was a nice, clean, healthy state before Jindal arrived.

Likewise, I doubt that we're willing to suggest that Vermont being the healthiest of all states is directly attributable to the current governor.

[BOSSHOG]

10. I doubt there is a bigger piyush detractor on the planet then me but

ya can't tag the unhealthy stuff on him (yet.) One of the state's biggest tourist draws is restaurants which feed fat by the pound and locals eat it almost all the time. Not to mention free flowing alcohol 24/7.

[OHdem10]

11. Economic Conservatism(GOP Rule for years in these states)

GWB and the Republican Congress tried to bring their Economic Conservatism
to the nation.

[tanyev]

12. Dang! Why isn't he out there doing faith healings for his constituents?

He's supposed to be pretty successful at them.

[Kalyke]

14. It's our food.

However, I've found I can still cook "Southern" without all the fat.

Substitute turkey for pork (I have to, anyway, I'm allergic to pork - can't digest it), use applsause or yogurt instead of butter (or mix if you still need the buttery flavor, just reduce it). Can't really skimp on the buscuits, but you don't have to eat them with EVERY meal. And, instead of smothering all my veggies in butter and/or lard, I quick-fry them in olive oil or steam them. Heck, in the summer I don't cook 'em at all - they're so fresh and tasty.

Yeah, a lot of us still smoke, but if we'd exercise and eat well, it would mitigate some of that. I mean, the Europeans smoke like chimneys and don't have the cancer and lung disease Americans do. I vote that it's because they eat healthier and exercise more.

[KamaAina]

15. You don't suppose the fact that its largest city's healthcare system is in ruins

might have had anything to do with that, do you?

Several New Orleans hospitals have never reopened since the Federal Flood, notably Charity, which was where all those uninsured people used to go.

And Piyush (Jindal's given name)'s plan to deal with this? Demolish Charity and build a sparkling new medical complex, including a VA hospital (also never reopened), right on top of an existing low-income neighborhood, and make sure the public never gets anywhere near anything like a hearing!

http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2008/11/plans_for_new_lsuva_hospital_c.html#preview

After weighing possible locations for more than a year, state and federal leaders are expected to announce this week that they will build a sparkling new LSU-VA hospital campus in downtown New Orleans that will help lure top medical talent to the region and position the city as a hub for the biosciences....

Construction of the new medical campus will also fundamentally transform the landscape of downtown. LSU and the VA plan to level 70 acres inside a national historic district to construct their hospitals, a move that will displace scores of residents and small business owners. While some of the houses have sunk into disrepair, others were restored after Katrina by owners who have organized to try to protect them from demolition....

The dramatic changes to the cityscape have caused a rift between preservation groups and economic development leaders about the impact the hospitals will have for downtown. Preservationists question the wisdom of knocking down a neighborhood when so many existing buildings will go unused, while business groups and LSU believe the hospitals will generate such a flowering of activity that the empty buildings will find buyers eager to rehabilitate them.

Bear in mind, one of those still-shuttered hospitals is about a mile up the street from this. :grr: I can see the train wreck a-comin': they bulldoze Lower Mid-City, then the financing falls through, thanks to the mess Piyush's idols Bush** and Rove got us into, and the city is left with yet another giant hole in the ground. :eyes:

Note: I used the word "sparkling", with a generous helping of :sarcasm: , before I found this article in which the cat box liner T-P uses it without a trace of irony!

[Dreamer Tatum]

16. Psst: they ate poorly before Katrina, too

Being, oh, from the LA/TX border, I can assure you that very little healthful activity
goes on there. They like their Southern food, and they don't get out much.

[KamaAina]

17. La.'s move from 49th to Dead F'n Last might have been precipitated by this

the old La. saying "Thank God for Mississippi!" (because we can always count on them to be even worse) no longer holds true.