UPI Poll: Rating Americans’ Health

Participants in a UPI-Zogby International poll have a better opinion of their own health than that of their fellow Americans.

Some 10,258 U.S. residents were asked in a Feb. 9-12 Zogby interactive poll to rate their own general health and the health of the average American on a 1-5 scale. A response of 1 was poor health and a choice of 5 meant excellent health.

In the self-diagnosis, 16.8 percent of those asked gave themselves a 5. Another 47.7 percent answered 4 while 27.9 percent said 3. Some 6.2 percent gave 2 as a response and 1.2 percent said 1, which was poor.

But in looking at the rest of the country, 1.8 percent of respondents gave 5 — excellent health — as an answer and 17.5 percent listed 4. The most favored response was 3 at 57.9 percent followed by the 19 percent who said 2 and 2.1 percent said 1 for poor.

Generally rural respondents see the United States in better health — a total of 21.4 percent gave either 4 or 5 as an answer. Large city dwellers were more than twice as likely to see the average American’s health as poor and 17.1 percent answered 4 or 5.

The data have a margin of error of 1 percentage point.