HEALTH HABIT SURVEY A MIXED BAG

CHICAGO - Americans are buckling up but chugging down, getting cancer
screening tests yet still smoking too much, according to government
research showing mixed results when it comes to healthy habits
nationwide.

State-by-state surveys of adult health trends in the 1990s reveal
disturbing increases in binge drinking - rising in more than a third
of states and falling in only three. Most states showed increases in
seat-belt use, mammography and even adult vaccinations, yet smoking
increased in almost a third and declined in only one.

``It's a mix of good and bad news,'' said Dr. David Nelson, who
helped conduct the research for the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.

Improvements in insurance for cancer screening may explain some
results, but reasons for other changes are unclear, Nelson said,
calling the study ``a jumping-off point to answer the 'why'
questions.''

Results appear in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.

In a JAMA editorial, Dr. J. Michael McGinnis of The Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation called the findings ``a reality check,''
indicating a need for stronger public health measures.

``It is easier to deliver services than to change behavior,'' McGinnis said.

As might be expected, the study found obesity has increased in all 47
states surveyed on the topic and ``just confirms that this has been a
nationwide problem,'' Nelson said.

Among the most surprising findings was the rise in binge-drinking,
defined as downing five or more alcoholic beverages at least once in
the past month, said Nelson, now with the National Cancer Institute.

Increases were concentrated in the South and Midwest, where Wisconsin
had the highest amount of binge drinking in 1999 - 19.6 percent,
compared with 16.4 percent in 1991. Illinois had the greatest
increase during the study, jumping from 7.3 percent to 13.9 percent.

Illinois' public health chief, Dr. John Lumpkin, called the increase
a concern but was unsure of its cause. State programs have addressed
binge drinking on college campuses, and more efforts are planned once
the state's budget crunch eases, Lumpkin said.

Psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Angres of Chicago's Rush-Presbyterian-St.
Luke's Medical Center said one reason may be that young adults,
especially in the Midwest, tend to view alcohol as ``the lesser of
two evils'' and more acceptable than harder drugs.

Also, Angres said, as women have become more equal in the workplace,
many have turned to ``the drinking culture,'' where doing business
over drinks is part of the office dynamic.

Participants were asked about 11 health behaviors: smoking, drinking,
physical inactivity, obesity, seat-belt use, mammograms, Pap tests,
colorectal cancer and cholesterol screenings, and flu and
pneumococcal vaccines.

New York showed the best results, with improvements in eight measures.