Harford County continues to rank in the middle of the pack statewide for overall health, with obesity and smoking rates continuing to worry local health officials.
The county came in 10th in the state once again in an annual county health ranking by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a collaboration with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
The report showed 30 percent of Harford adults were obese in 2011 and 18 percent were smokers between 2006 and 2012, slightly higher than the state averages of 28 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
The obesity number is two percentage points higher than the results from last year, which used 2010 data, but Harford County Health Officer Susan Kelly said that is not significant because of the margin of error in the survey.
Nevertheless, she said, "what we focus on is that we do have an obesity problem in Harford County."
She was encouraged by the overall results of the report, which also ranked Harford sixth in "health factors," which include weighted scores for health behaviors, clinical care, the physical environment and social and economic factors.
The county had slightly higher numbers than the state average for access to exercise opportunities and education levels, as well as much lower numbers for problems such as violent crime, sexually transmitted infections and drinking water violations.
"We are maintaining our strong ranking among Maryland counties while continuing to look for ways to improve our status," Kelly said.
Harford continues to struggle in some health factors. The county has far fewer doctors to meet patients' needs than other counties do, according to the survey.
The county has one primary care physician for every 1,680 residents, versus the state average of 1,131. There is one mental health provider for every 757 residents, versus one for every 502 on average statewide.
Commuting-related disparities also continued to grow. The report showed 84 percent of working Harford residents drove alone to work between 2009 and 2013, slightly up from 83 percent reported last year and 11 percentage points higher than the state average.
Also, 51 percent of those commuting alone between 2009 and 2013 had a drive of at least 30 minutes, up slightly from the 50 percent reported last year and four percentage points above the state average.
Montgomery County was ranked the healthiest in Maryland and Baltimore City was least healthy.
The Harford Health Department partners with groups like the county planning and zoning departments and the Town of Bel Air to increase physical activity improvements by improving access for pedestrians and working "to make Harford more pedestrian- and bike-friendly," Kelly said.
"Certainly we would like to have a better ratio of providers," she said on the topic of too few medical professionals. She noted there have been recent additions, however, like the Beacon Health Center in Havre de Grace, the county's first federally-qualified health center, which opened in December.
Changing behaviors like smoking and obesity takes time and a change in thinking, Kelly said.
"I think a lot of it is education and awareness, and we are trying to move the needle on that as well," she said.
Kelly pointed out how much smoking has changed in recent decades, with it being extremely prevalent and widely accepted 30 years ago.
"It was considered the norm," Kelly said about smoking in the past. "Any time you are talking about public health, it does take a significant amount of time to see changes."