Fort Bend County is one of Texas’s healthiest counties, with one of the lowest smoking rates in the state, according to a national study measuring living conditions and health rates across the U.S. In its rankings released last week, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute placed Fort Bend the fourth healthiest county in Texas, measured by a myriad health factors, from levels of air and water pollution to rates of sexually transmitted diseases. Meanwhile, Fort Bend ranked number seven among Texas counties in what the study calls health outcomes—health rates and premature deaths in a county. Kate Konkle, associate researcher at University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, said the rankings are published to provide local governments a picture of what health concerns to focus on. “The big thing is to link this to policy action,” Konkle said. Fort Bend recorded the lowest rate of smokers in the state at 12 percent. Loving County recorded the highest rate of smokers at 26 percent. Konkle said researchers were surprised to learn that rates of premature deaths among Americans is on the rise. Premature death is defined as a person dying before the age of 75. Konkle said most of the rise came from 15- to 44-year-olds. She listed car crashes, suicides, homicides and drug overdoses as factors having a large impact on those deaths. “That tells us it’s important to provide job opportunities and mental health counseling,” Konkle said. Fort Bend has climbed the institute’s list in recent years. In 2011, it ranked eighth in health factors and 11th in health outcomes. The rankings are based on data gleaned from a variety of sources, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Collin County ranked first in both health factors and health outcomes. The full list of county ratings is available here.