Community Corner

Middlesex County Likes Drinking and Fast Food, but Healthier Than Rest, Study Says

According to a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin, Middlesex County was the second healthiest county in the state and was generally better than the national average, excluding a few areas.

By Andrew Sylvia

Middlesex County likes its fast food and drinking, but on the whole it appears healthier than the rest of Massachusetts and the rest of the nation on average.

That conclusion comes from a finding published in a recent study by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Find out what's happening in Westfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There, Middlesex County was listed second overall in Massachusetts next to Dukes County.

While the advantage in most categories was only marginal compared to the rest of Massachusetts, Middlesex County had almost a thousand fewer premature deaths and half as many sexually transmitted infections as the state on average.

Find out what's happening in Westfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Still, when it comes to those sexually transmitted infections, Middlesex County had almost twice the rate of the national average, a trend that was comparable with the rest of the state with things like trips to fast food restaurants, violent crime and excessive drinking.

The study also looked at measures including adult obesity and insurance coverage, premature death and teen birth rates and the number of physicians and dentists per county resident, providing state and national benchmarks for comparison with the local numbers.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here