Marion 14^th healthiest county in state

Marion County ranks 14^th among West Virginia’s 55 counties in the 2015 County Health Rankings released today.

The five healthiest counties in West Virginia are Pendleton, Jefferson, Monongalia (which includes Morgantown and West Virginia University), Pleasants and Upshur.

The least healthy are Mercer, Logan, Mingo, Wyoming and last-place McDowell (Welch).

The study compared education, housing, violent crime, jobs, exercise and diet. Counties with higher rankings tended to have less smokers, less frequent hospital stays for residents, and higher percentages of college attendance.

Says Ginny Vincent, Occupational Therapist at University Hospital Center: "80 percent of what you are is what you eat, and the 20 percent is what you do."

That ignores DNA, which has to factor in there somewhere.