Using a standard formula, 3100 counties were measured on the basis of overall health and Montgomery stood 52nd in the list.

Out of 92 counties in Indiana, Montgomery was ranked 52, Hamilton county topped the list and Tippecanoe county was placed twelfth.

County Health Officer Dr Bruce Howland however stated that this might not be the actual picture of Montgomery County's health status. Howland said it was not possible to rank a county’s health status as various things were involved.

He said, "Obviously, there are things that we're deficient in. It depends on how much money you have and what type of talent is available, how the county's finances are at the time when there's a problem. Unfortunately, they don't always coincide like you'd like them to."

He also added that such studies were beneficial in determining issues that need to be addressed.

To rank the counties researchers referred to earlier work in Wisconsin and worked closely with staff members from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the study in Montgomery County the number of residents who are in poor or average health were 16 per cent. About 8 per cent of children born in the county had a low birth weight.

The study stated that 30 per cent of residents were smokers and about 30 per cent were obese and 12 per cent did binge drinking.

Dr John Roberts sad that if this data is to be referred to then the overall ranking was not surprising.