Five Ways This Survey About Maine’s Wellness is Absolutely Bogus

A recent survey conducted by the health company Life Extension looked at a bunch of different data to rank the Best and Worst States for Wellness in the United States. And while Maine didn't rank near the end of the list, the fact that it was only positioned in the middle-of-the-pack was almost just as equally bogus.

According to the Life Extension survey, three key areas were looked at went putting this list together: Physical and Mental Health, Access to National Parks and Nature, and Interest in Integrative Health Practices. And somehow, even though we crush all those categories in Maine, we still ended up buried in the middle of the survey.

And here are the five reasons we think that's absolutely bogus.

1. Mainers are always exercising

Whether it's joining a stereotypical gym, a kettlebell gym, a Crossfit gym, or a yoga and pilates studio, Mainers for sure get their physical health on. Even without a membership to some kind of exercise facility or health club, look out a window on any beautiful Maine day and you'll see parents walking their children in strollers or hand-in-hand, owners walking their dogs, and of course Mainers either going for a solo walk, jog, run, or bicycle ride.

2. We have a National Park!

How we hardly got any credit in the National Park access category makes absolutely zero sense. Especially when Acadia National Park is one of the most-visited in the entire country, according to a Boston.com article, let alone the most frequented in New England itself.

3. And have you seen our nature?

You can't say that we don't absolutely dominate the "Access to National Parks and Nature" category when we have Acadia as mentioned above, but also endless hiking trails and mountains that New Englanders near and far take day trips to for healthy hikes and beautiful sights. (We're looking at you, Mount Katahdin and Appalachian Trail, for starters.)

4. Dietary Supplement use

In the survey, Life Extension mentions the use of Dietary Supplements as inclusion in the Interest in Integrative Health Practices. But is that an actual statistic you can include when ranking a state's health practices? How many reports are there mentioning dietary supplements aren't a healthy means of weight loss, etc? Vitamins are one thing, but dietary supplements? Seems like a reach to use as a statistic.

5. The Use of Google Trends

A lot of the information gathered by Life Extension for their survey relied on searching certain terms on Google Trends. And on the topic of Interest in Integrative Health Practices, one of the Trends that Maine ranked high in was "mindfulness." However, when you break it down more, the actual search term included researching mindfulness along with the Apple Watch. So, does that actually even prove anything?

Basing surveys on Google searches or Google Trends doesn't fully capture the entire essence of a place. And we damn well know that Maine is not only a special place, but reeks of all the good wellness and damn well deserves to be ranked higher on a list deep-diving into wellness amongst states across the country.