If you live in the City of Milwaukee, you're likely to be a fat, binge-drinking, smoker who is generally unhealthy. But if you dwell in the sunny suburbs of Waukesha, Ozaukee and even Milwaukee counties, your health insurance agent is more likely to be your friend. So finds a recent survey of state health patterns.

We're not the healthiest bunch here in the big city, according to a recent attempt at ranking the state's counties by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

The report looks at numerous healthy and unhealthy practices in order to figure out the state's total picture of health. It includes 72 counties and tosses in the City of Milwaukee, as well, in order to gauge the county's suburbs on their own without gritty city residents to skew the results toward the negative.

As for the overall pictures of health, the City of Milwaukee came in second last at No. 71, with 19.1 percent considered in fair to poor condition. Milwaukee County ranked No. 59 with 15.9 percent of the population rated with fair to poor health. In the metro area, the healthy folks can be found in Ozaukee County, where it holds second-place status in the state with 7.9 percent in fair and poor health and Waukesha in fourth place at 8.5 percent.

Menominee County, which is a tribal reservation, came in at the bottom with 21.3 percent with less-than-desired health. Iowa County -- featuring such landmarks as Lone Rock -- topped the health charts with just a 6.4 percent unhealthy populace.

In some of the individual category results on a scale with No. 1 being the best and No. 72 the least healthiest:

• When it comes to binge drinking, Calumet County near Appleton leads the state with 33.3 percent saying they like to cocktail regularly. Milwaukee County came in at No. 31 (23.8 percent regular boozers), while the City of Milwaukee came in at No. 35, with 24 percent declaring they sauce a lot. It's likely the difference of one old fashioned a day. Waukesha County was a veritable landscape of tea-totalers at No. 9, with 17.5 percent bingers and Ozaukee County was No. 18 with 20.7 percent tipping the toast more than three or four times a week. The state's driest county is Rusk -- best known for having more lakes than people -- with 8.7 percent indulging in the demon rum on more than a semi-regular basis.
• In terms of obesity, the City of Milwaukee weighs in at the top with 51 percent of us earning obese status. Milwaukee County ranks No. 19 with 22.2 percent tipping the scales in obese-land. Waukesha County, land of Olympic gymnasts, came in No. 4 at 17.5 percent, and Ozaukee carried just a hair less weight at No. 3, with 17.2 percent admitting to having expanded waistlines. The least amount of fat content can be found in Lafayette County -- that desolate place in the southwest -- where just 15.3 percent of the residents have been found to be overweight.
• And when it comes to smoking, the easiest place for a smoking ban would be Buffalo County, where 14.1 percent of the residents puff the tobacco stuff. Perhaps due to the fact it's filling up with bedroom communities of the Twin Cities. Monroe County has the most smokers at 35.5 percent, while the City of Milwaukee has the fourth most at 28.4 percent. Among Milwaukee County denizens 25.6 percent are smokers, while the air in Waukesha County is relatively clean with 16.8 percent lighting up, ranking No. 6. Ozaukee is nearly smog-free at No. 5, with16.5 percent about to pay $1 more in taxes per pack of smokes.

Time Well Spent? When it comes to budget day for the Milwaukee Common Council several personalities emerge. We have the laissez-faire types who show little passion for the process and wait for others to put forth amendments to vote on; those who look out for the parochial issues of constituents; the active participants who know the decimal points in and out and understand the balances needed to put together a tight budget while maintaining city services -- and then there's Ald. Jim Bohl.

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