Every three years, Essentia Health conducts a survey of adults in Crow Wing County. In 2021, the survey was developed by Crow Wing Energized, Cuyuna Reginal Medical Center and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). It was mailed to 4,000 addresses in Crow Wing County. A total of 957 surveys came back for a 23.9% response rate, a statistically sound sampling which was adjusted to get a representative of the adult population of the county.

In comparison to the 2017 survey, results continue to show that almost 90% of the adults in Crow Wing County feel their health is good to excellent. But when they report their actual health conditions, what we find in reality is that 64% of the population is overweight or obese, and 33% have high blood pressure, 27% high cholesterol, 27% arthritis, 19% depression, 17% panic attacks and 15% diabetes. Results also indicated that 62% of all adults are not eating five or more fruits or vegetables a day, nor are they getting the recommended physical activity.

Tobacco use reported an improvement from 23.3% to 16.6.% over the past 3 years. Current cigarette smokers who are trying to quit decreased to 39% compared to 44% in 2018 and 71% in 2014. Tobacco users report higher rates of obesity, depression, and anxiety.

Crow Wing Energized will be studying the feedback and developing healthy strategies to overcome these obstacles. There are already a variety of evidence based programs underway, such as the National Diabetes Prevention Program, that with time should make a difference to our adult population in Crow Wing County.

If you would like to learn more, email CrowWingEnergized@essentiahealth.org