California Workout: Bending the Elbows

Residents of California, Arizona and Utah have a higher opinion of themselves when it comes to health habits, compared to people surveyed in the Midwest and South.

Arizona and California residents, however, admitted to higher percentages of heavy drinking and binge drinking than people surveyed in 13 other states where the survey was conducted for the federal Centers for Disease Control.

The telephone surveys conducted in 1984 showed Arizona highest with 12%of those surveyed admitting to heavier drinking--more than 60 drinks a month--with Californians second at 10.5%. Utah was lowest at 3.2%.

California rankings in the survey included second-lowest in overweight and lack of exercise; third-lowest in smoking;seventh in uncontrolled high blood pressure, and ninth in binge-drinking (defined as five or more drinks on one occasion).

The survey showed that Tennesseans were more likely to sit back when it comes to exercise. Ohio and West Virginia were the heavy states, with more people admitting to being overweight.