The front-page headline of The Fresno Bee had a familiar ring: "Worse than Appalachia."  If you size up Central California congressional districts vs. others around the country, the Valley ranks horribly in terms of high poverty, poor health and low levels of education.

That's old news, only made slightly new because this particular study, "The Measure of America," used measurements previously employed on Third World countries.  Essentially the same deplorable assessment was made in 2005 in reports by the Brookings Institution, the Congressional Research Service and the California Research Bureau -- yeah, 2005 was a pretty bleak year if you considered moving to the Valley.

(If you feel the need, you can buy the study from Columbia University Press for about $25.)

However, I'd strongly recommend reading another study, done by the Trust for America's Health, that scarcely drew headlines anywhere.

It said that if $10 per person per year were invested in preventative, community-based programs to increase physical activity, improve nutrition and prevent tobacco use, the country could save more than $16 billion in health costs ANNUALLY within five years. That's a return on investment of $5.60 for every $1 spent. The projected annual savings in California alone was estimated at $1.7 billion (betcha that would help with budget deficits).

The full report can be obtained -- for free -- at www.healthyamericans.org