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Of course it includes Planned Parenthood. Romney is on the Healthy People 2010 train just like Huckabee.

Guess what? It isn’t just Planned Parenthood. Healthy People includes firearms as a safety hazard.

See the last link below my post to reference the firearms control section under the occupational safety initiative of Healthy People 2010

http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=pressreleases&agId=Eeohhs2&prModName=dphpressrelease&prFile=061024_obesity.xml as retrieved on Aug 15, 2007 18:53:58 GMT.
Massachusetts State Seal

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Executive Office of Health and Human Services
Department of Public Health
250 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02108-4619

MITT ROMNEY

GOVERNOR

KERRY HEALEY

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

TIMOTHY MURPHY

SECRETARY

PAUL J. COTE, JR.

COMMISSIONER
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

October 24, 2006
CONTACT:

Donna Rheaume
(617) 624-5006
ONE OUT OF FIVE MASSACHUSETTS ADULTS OBESE
DPH Releases Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Report

The Department of Public Health (DPH) today released the annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) report which tracks health risk factors, preventative health behaviors, chronic conditions and emerging public health issues. The report is based on a 2005 telephone survey of over 8,900 Massachusetts residents ages 18 and older. Residents were asked questions about a variety of health topics including smoking, binge drinking, weight and obesity, diabetes, flu immunization, cancer screening, asthma and others.

Highlights from the report include:

* Obesity continued to increase in Massachusetts. One out of five Massachusetts adults was obese (20.7 percent). Massachusetts remains the fifth leanest state in the U.S.
* The gap between Massachusetts and the U.S. numbers for binge drinking is decreasing. In 2005, nearly 16 percent of Massachusetts adults reported binge drinking (5 or more drinks on one occasion) in the past month compared with about 14 percent nationally.
* 6.4 percent of Massachusetts adults have diabetes, which is 14 percent lower than the U.S. Diabetes has been increasing at a rate of 3 percent per year in Massachusetts since 1990. Obese adults are more likely to report diabetes than adults with normal weight.
* 87 percent of Massachusetts adults reported that they have a health care provider in 2005, surpassing the Healthy People 2010 goal of 85 percent.

“The Massachusetts BRFSS continues to be one of the key public health surveillance tools which helps us target resources to meet the needs of residents and improve the health of our citizens,” said DPH Commissioner Paul J. Cote Jr.

According to the Massachusetts BRFSS, adult smoking rates have fallen in the past two decades from 28 percent in 1986 to the current rate of 18 percent, placing Massachusetts below the national average of 21 percent. There has also been a decline in Massachusetts residents’ exposure to secondhand smoke. The statewide Smoke-Free Workplace Law was signed by Governor Romney in July 2004.

Other highlights on tobacco use include:

* In 2005, 18 percent of Massachusetts adults reported smoking, which represents about 850,000 current adult smokers in Massachusetts.
* Adults with less than four years of college reported significantly higher smoking rates.
* Smokers also tend to be concentrated in certain geographic areas of the Commonwealth, including Worcester, Springfield, Fall River/New Bedford, and rural areas of southeastern and western Massachusetts.

“This report demonstrates that we have made tremendous progress in lowering smoking rates in Massachusetts. It also allows us to target our efforts to those groups and communities where smoking rates remain high as we work to reduce the numbers of smokers,” said DPH Associate Commissioner Sally Fogerty.

For more information,visit www.mass.gov/dph/hsp and www.mass.gov/dph/mtcp. BRFSS Data through 2005 can also be found on www.masschip.state.ma.us.

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