Nassau excels in national health report

Nassau County residents have the healthiest lifestyles in New York when considering wealth, family support and access to medical care, a new report found.

State-by-state rankings released Wednesday by the University of Wisconsin and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation examined community health data for more than 3,000 U.S. counties.

The report analyzes data on life span, education, access to healthy food, air pollution, income, and rates of smoking, drinking, obesity and teen births.

"We must continue to promote and protect health, and encourage our residents to adopt or maintain a healthy lifestyle so that they may live a long and productive life," Nassau County Health Commissioner Dr. Maria Torroella Carney said in a statement Wednesday morning.

In New York, Nassau bested Westchester and Saratoga counties, which held the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively, in the "health factors" category.

But while the report noted that Nassau residents tend to live longer than residents elsewhere, the county only ranked sixth in "health outcomes" -- a combination of life span and quality-of-life factors.

Putnam County topped the health outcomes list. Suffolk ranked seventh for health factors, 15th for health outcomes.

Bronx County ranked last in both categories.

View the rankings online: countyhealthrankings.org/new-york/overall-rankings.