Kern County is one of the least healthy counties in the state coming in 52nd out of 57 counties, according to new county health rankings for all 50 states.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute compiled a report showing Kern County is 47th in the state when it comes to average length of life and almost a quarter of residents here report having poor or fair health.
16 percent of adults in Kern County are smokers and 32 percent are considered obese. That's up from 2012 when it was closer to 25 percent.
Kern Public Health officials are taking a proactive approach to improve the counties ranking. Two years ago launching the "Know Your Risk" campaign to reduce sexually transmitted infections. Public relations officer, Michelle Corson said, "this isn't going to take six months, or a year or even two years. This is going to take a long sustained effort to get us out of the trouble we're in."
Click HERE for more information on Kern County Public Health Services.
