Health and Nutrition of Elkader, IA Residents

Diet Behavior & Nutrition

Forty nine percent of Elkader residents report that their diet is generally healthy. People here have milk to drink or on their cereal 16 times per month. This includes chocolate and other flavored milks, as well as hot cocoa made with milk, and does not count small amounts of milk added to coffee or tea. People living here eat an average of three meals (breakfasts, lunches or dinners) per week that were prepared away from home in places such as restaurants, fast food places, food stands, grocery stores or from vending machines. They get two of these meals from a fast-food or pizza place. People here eat two "ready to eat" foods such as salads, soups, chicken, sandwiches and cooked vegetables per month. They also eat two frozen meals or frozen pizzas on average monthly.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Oral Health

The average Elkader resident last visited a dentist two years ago (including all types of dentists, such as, orthodontists, oral surgeons, and all other dental specialists, as well as dental hygienists). Twenty eight percent of people living here 30 years of age and older, are embarrassed because of their teeth, mouth or dentures. Nineteen percent think they might have gum disease (might have swollen gums, receding gums, sore or infected gums or loose teeth). Elkader residents rate the overall health of their teeth and gums on average at 47 percent. People living here aged 30 years and older, aside from brushing their teeth with toothbrush, use dental floss or any other device that clean between teeth on average three days per week. They also use mouthwash or other dental rinse products to treat dental disease or dental problems an average of three days per week. The average person living here (including children) has 27 teeth.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Weight

The average height of Elkader residents 16 years and older is 67 inches. The average weight is 185 pounds. Their average BMI (Body Mass Index) is 31. Fifty three percent of people living here are obese. Sixty four percent have ever been obese. Thirty percent have ever tried to lose weight.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Drug Use

Seventy six percent of Elkader residents have ever used marijuana or hashish. Thirty five percent of people living here have ever used cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine. Thirty three percent have ever used any form of cocaine, such as powder, 'crack', 'free base', and coca paste. Two percent have ever used heroin. Twenty six percent have ever used methamphetamines.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Diabetes

Eleven percent of people living in Elkader have ever been told by a doctor or health professional that they have diabetes. Thirty four percent of people had a blood test for high sugar or diabetes within the past three years. Two percent of city residents are currently taking insulin.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Kidney Conditions-Urology

Elkader residents 20 years and older on average get up to urinate one time at night (from time they go to bed at night until the time they get up in the morning).

Summary

Taste & Smell

Eight percent of Elkader residents above the age of 40 have problems with their ability to smell, such as not being able to smell things or things not smelling the way they are supposed to. Three percent have been having problems with their ability to taste sweet, sour, salty or bitter foods and drinks. Thirty nine percent of people above the age of 40 have ever had wisdom teeth removed. Thirteen percent have lost consciousness because of a head injury. Sixteen percent have ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull. Thirty four percent have had two or more sinus infections.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Health Insurance

Eighty five percent of people living in Elkader are covered by health insurance or some other kind of health care plan.

Summary

Blood Pressure & Cholesterol

Twelve percent of people living in Elkader have been ever told by a doctor or other health professional that they had hypertension (also called high blood pressure). Twenty one percent of people take their blood pressure at home. Thirty percent of people in Elkader frequently check their blood cholesterol.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Dermatology

Eighteen percent of people living in Elkader use sunscreen.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Mental Health

Twenty five percent of Elkader residents 18 years old and older have usually little interest or pleasure in doing things. Nineteen percent often feel down, depressed, or hopeless. Thirty percent of people living here have trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleep too much. Fifty three percent of people often feel tired or have little energy. Thirty seven percent are bothered by poor appetite or overeating. Nineteen percent often feel badly about themselves, that they are a failure or have let themselves or their families down. Seventeen percent have trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching TV. Twenty four percent of people living here move or speak so slowly that other people could have noticed, or the opposite - being so fidgety or restless that they have been moving around a lot more than usual. Three percent have thoughts that they would be better off dead or of hurting themselves in some way.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Prescription Medications

Elkader residents on average take one prescription medicines.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Alcohol use

Eighty four percent of people living in Elkader have at least one alcoholic drink per month. Thirteen percent of people living here do not drink alcohol at all. People living here drink alcohol 5.5 days per month on average. They have 9.0 drinks per week. On average people living here have 5 or more drinks on 44 days a year.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Sexual Behavior

Hundred percent of Elkader residents 18 years and older have ever had vaginal, anal or oral sex. Hundred percent of males have ever had vaginal sex with a woman. Ninety five percent have ever performed oral sex on a woman. Fifty eight percent have ever had anal sex with a woman. Three percent of males in Elkader have ever had any kind of sex with a man, including oral or anal. Hundred percent of females have ever had vaginal sex with a man. Eighty one percent have ever performed oral sex on a man. Twenty three percent have ever had anal sex. Eight percent of females have ever had any kind of sex with a woman. People in Elkader were 17 years old on average when they had sex for the first time. The average man in his lifetime had any kind of sex with 48 women. He has vaginal sex with 46 women. People living here were on average 22 years old when they first performed oral sex on a woman. In their lifetime they performed oral sex on average on four women. People in Elkader were 17 years old on average when they first performed oral sex on a man. The average person in Elkader has vaginal or anal sex 51 times a year. Forty six percent have sex without using a condom. Females in Elkader 18 years and older have had any kind of sex with seven men on average. They have had six male vaginal sex partners in their lifetimes. Eighty seven percent of men 18 years old and older are circumcised.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Pesticide Use

Fifteen percent of households in Elkader use chemical products in their homes to control fleas, roaches, ants, termites or other insects. Two percent use chemical products in their lawns or gardens to kill weeds.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Sleep Disorders

Elkader residents 16 years and older usually get seven hours of sleep at night on weekdays or workdays. Twenty percent of them have trouble sleeping.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Smoking-Cigarette Use

Fifty percent of Elkader residents currently smoke cigarettes.

Summary

Physical Activity

Nineteen percent of Elkader residents' work involve vigorous-intensity activity that causes large increases in breathing or heart rate, like carrying or lifting heavy loads, digging or construction work for at least 10 minutes continuously. Thirty four percent of people do moderate-intensity activities at work that cause small increases in breathing or heart rate such as brisk walking or carrying light loads for at least 10 minutes continuously. Forty four percent walk or bicycle for at least 10 minutes continuously to get to and from places. Thirty six percent do any vigorous-intensity sports, fitness or recreational activities that cause large increases in breathing or heart rate like running or basketball for at least 10 minutes continuously. Fifty three percent do any moderate-intensity sports, fitness or recreational activities that cause a small increase in breathing or heart rate such as brisk walking, bicycling, swimming or golf for at least 10 minutes continuously. People living here spend six hours sitting on a typical day (this includes sitting at work, at home, getting to and from places, or with friends, including time spent sitting at a desk, traveling in a car or bus, reading, playing cards, watching television or using a computer). They usually sit and watch TV or videos for about three hours per day. They use a computer or play computer games (including Playstation, Nintendo DS, or other portable video games) outside of work or school for 1.7 hours per day.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Medical Conditions

Eleven percent of Elkader residents have ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that they had asthma. Three percent of people living here has anemia, sometimes called "tired blood" or "low blood". Three percent of people 16 years and older have ever been told by a doctor or other health care professional that they had psoriasis. Twenty seven percent are overweight. Thirty seven percent have trouble seeing, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses. Ten percent of people 20 and older have arthritis. Three percent have ever been told they had gout. Three percent have coronary heart disease. Three percent have been ever told by a doctor or other health professional that they had a stroke.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Reproductive Health

Seventy two percent of births in Elkader were vaginal deliveries. Twenty eight percent of deliveries were cesarean. 100.0 percent of deliveries resulted in live births. Fifty eight percent of pregnancies resulted in a delivery. Seventy nine percent of women breastfeed their children. Ten percent of women in Elkader have ever had a hysterectomy, including a partial hysterectomy (that is, surgery to remove their uterus or womb). Ninety four percent have ever taken birth control pills for any reason. Five percent of women are currently taking birth control pills. Ten percent have ever used female hormones such as estrogen and progesterone, including any forms of female hormones, such as pills, cream, patch and injections, but do not include birth control methods or use for infertility.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Current Health Status

People living in Elkader report their general health condition on average at 60 percent. Six percent of them donate blood. Excluding tests they have had as part of blood donations, 56 percent of Elkader residents have ever had their blood tested for the AIDS virus infection. Eight percent of people living in Elkader are left-handed.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Consumer Behavior

People in Elkader spend $475 per month on average on food for their families at supermarkets or grocery stores. This is 43 percent of their income. The average family in Elkader spends $135 on food at other stores monthly. This is six percent of their income. They spend $116 on eating out, including cafeterias at work or at school or on vending machines. This is five percent of their income. This is one percent of their income.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Audiometry

People living in Elkader report their general condition of hearing on average at 87 percent. Ninety five percent of them can usually hear and understand, without the use of a hearing aid or any other listening devices, what a person says without seeing his or her face if that person whispers to them from across a quiet room. Ninety nine percent of people can hear a normal voice across a quiet room. Twelve percent of Elkader population have been bothered by ringing, roaring or buzzing in their ears or head. Fifty two percent of people living here have ever had a job where they were exposed to loud sounds or noise. Loud means so loud that they must speak in a raised voice to be heard. Nineteen percent of people in Elkader had off-work exposure to loud noise.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Preventive Aspirin Use

Sixteen percent of Elkader residents 40 and older take a low-dose aspirin each day to prevent heart attacks, strokes or cancer.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.

Physical Functioning

Nine percent of Elkader residents 20 or older have limitations caused by a long-term physical, mental or emotional problems or illnesses keeping them from working at a job or business. Fourteen percent are limited in the kind or amount of work they can do because of physical, mental or emotional problems. Five percent have difficulty walking without using any special equipment. Four percent are limited in any way because of difficulty remembering or because they experience periods of confusion. Five percent of people here have health problems that require them to use special equipment, such as a cane, wheelchair, special bed or special telephone.

Summary

The biggest differences compared to state averages have been highlighted with a blue background.