Seventy-five percent of Staten Island residents are overweight or obese, according to Borough President James Oddo making it the unhealthiest borough in the city. Staten Island dwellers are also significantly more likely to smoke or contract heart disease than other New Yorkers.
“The cold hard truth is that we as a community are not as healthy as we could be,” said Oddo. “Just about every health and wellness indicator for our community is pointing toward the wrong direction.”
As part of a campaign for a healthier Staten Island, Oddo announced the hiring of Dr. Ginny Mantello as the borough’s director of health and wellness. “I think that the message here should be lifestyle choices can make all the difference,” said Mantello.
What’s making Staten Island so much more sluggish than the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens? Maybe it has something to do with all those cars.
(Photo: @James Willamor)
