Drugs or Obesity? Different Age Groups Disagree About Biggest Health Threats

America has huge health concerns. That's nothing new. From bigger proportions of fast food, to drug abuse, to binge drinking, to eating disorders, we know we are in bad shape. Not all of us agree, however, on what the greatest threat to public health in the state of North Carolina is.

You may be interested in findings from the Brogan Survey that reveal which of four choices--obesity, smoking, alcohol or drugs-- people find are the greatest threat to health. Overall, 38% felt drug abuse is the greatest threat, followed by 30.8% who felt obesity is more of a concern. What may be the most interesting though, is how people in various age groups answered differently.

People ages 18-24 were the most likely to say obesity is the greatest threat to health-- 40.4% of them-- and least likely to say drugs are the biggest problem, 29.8%. People 65 and older answered in just the opposite way, being least likely of any other group (23.9%) to answer obesity and most likely to answer drugs (46.9%) when asked what the greatest health concern is.

Does that seem odd to anyone else? Aren't fingers typically pointed at teenagers and young adults for drug abuse? Aren't older people more likely to be less active and gain weight with age?

Our findings can suggest a variety of things. Do you think the older population overestimates drug abuse in the state or country? Is this because of the media's portrayal of young people? Are younger people more attuned to the obesity problem? Do they learn about it in school or base the level of health threat on people they know, indicating more overweight friends than drug addicts?

Nifong's Investigator To Lose His Job

You thought it was close to over, but it's not. The infamous Duke Lacrosse Case and the chaos that surrounds it is not out of the limelight yet. Its focus, for a brief moment, is on someone other than Nifong.

The News & Observer reported today that Linwood Wilson, Nifong's chief investigator, will not be employed at the Durham district attorney's office tomorrow. Wilson was a big part of the lacrosse case.

We wonder what would happen if we gave the Brogan Survey to North Carolinians now. Would their faith in the state's justice system be different than it was in May? Then, 64.6% of respondents felt the justice system in North Carolina "usually gets it right". Do you think some of those people will join the 22% who answered "usually gets it wrong"? How about you? Where do you stand?

Michiganders Use Ads Too

Michiganders use advertisements in the same way as North Carolinians. According to the Brogan Survey, 41% of them pay attention to advertisements when they need to purchase something, while 35.2% of them pay attention to ads just to stay informed.

Interestingly, demographic trends in response to this survey question are the same in both states as well. Women and African Americans in Michigan are more likely than their counterparts to pay attention to advertisements for informational purposes; 40% and 38.2% respectively. Men and Caucasians are more likely to pay attention to advertisements when they need to buy something; 42% and 43.3%.

These strikingly similar results and trends make the findings that much stronger. What do you think? Is there a reason there are differences in demographical trends for paying attention to advertisements? Let us know.

Women and African Americans Most Likely to Use Advertisements to Stay Informed

As may be expected, females pay more attention to advertisements for informational purposes than do males. According to the Brogan Survey, 39.7% of North Carolina women pay attention to stay informed and 33.1% pay attention when making purchases. Men in North Carolina, on the other hand, are slightly more likely to pay attention to ads when making purchases (35.3% of them) but less likely to pay attention just to stay informed--only 27.7% of them reported doing that.

Instead of getting into the psychological topics of why that might be, let's stick with talking about advertisements. They are at the top of their game even in the midst of a "leave me alone and just give me my coffee" type of society. Now, stop and think about the commercial you always loved or can't get out of your head. Maybe it's the "Can you hear me know? Good" commercials , the old Budweiser commercials or the Geico commercials. Do you remember the message they were sending? Did they inform you? Do you ever actively seek out advertisements to stay up-to-date on new products or services?

Other survey findings show that African Americans are more likely to pay attention to advertisements to stay informed than Caucasians;40.1% as compared to 29.8%. When interested in making a purchase, however, only 27.6% of African Americans pay attention to ads while 38.8% of Caucasians do.

Do you have any ideas why that might be? Are you surprised about our findings?

In a High-Tech Society, Advertisements Still Doing Their Job

These days it's rare to meet someone who doesn't use the internet, ad blocking software or TiVo. If you don't own a TiVo you probably know someone who does and, chances are, you've bummed off that person on more than one occasion. If you don't have ad blocking software well, why not? Maybe you're like many of the North Carolinians we surveyed who value the messages of advertisements.

Remarkably, in this world of increased technology and impatience, advertising still serves as a vital source of information for consumers, according to the people themselves.

That's right. 33.6% of North Carolinians said they pay attention to advertisements to stay informed about new products and services. 34.2% of them pay attention to ads when they need to purchase something.

Also interesting is the breakdown of who pays the most attention to advertising...stay tuned for that information in the Brogan Survey results later this week. But for now, are you surprised that 2/3 of people purposely pay attention to advertisements? Do you?

Not Using iPods?

It's a daily occurrence... laughing at the driver next to you who is ruthlessly bopping his head and belting out that all-too-familiar song. But, apparently, he's probably just jamming to the radio.

Even though electronic stores sell equipment that connect iPods to car stereos, people still claim that they do not use an iPod or similar MP3 to listen to music. That's not just limited to the car, it includes any other time music is being played.

76.8% of North Carolinians do not use an ipod or similar MP3 to listen to music, according to the Brogan Survey. Over half of the 18-34 year olds claimed they did use such a device, but older respondents responded much more negatively--users accounted for just between 5.3% and 18.9% of their population.

Also interesting was that more males than females claimed to use an iPod or MP3 and more African Americans than Caucasians did as well. 28.7% of males said they use a similar device while only 16% of females do. Just 18.7% of Caucasians said they use an iPod or MP3 device and 27% of African Americans do.

Do these results surprise you? Do you think people in your state would answer differently? Do you use an ipod or MP3? Let us know.

Michiganders Chime In: "Desperate Housewives" Should Go

Michiganders feel the same way as North Carolinians--"Desperate Housewives" should go! But unlike the runner-up show in North Carolina, the one in Michigan was a close second and didn't involve watching disheveled people struggling to survive.

27.2% of Michiganders would cancel "Desperate Housewives" and 23% would cancel "American Idol" if given the chance to be a network television executive. That means Michiganders aren't quite as keen on the singing competition as North Carolinians (even though North Carolina respondents didn't absolutely love the idea of keeping the show either).

In both states, E.R., CSI and Twenty Four seemed to be favorites, with few people wanting to cancel them. Looks like drama wins...who doesn't like commiserating and watching others' drama instead of their own sometimes? What show do you think needs to get the boot? Let us know. For more television cancellation results in North Carolina, click here.

More Trouble for Nifong

The News & Observer reported today that Nifong may be in more trouble. Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III from the Duke lacrosse case filed a memorandum saying that, besides the N.C. State Bar, he also has the power to discipline Nifong.

The Brogan Survey and findings from its crosstabs show that most North Carolinians want Nifong, prosecutor of the Duke lacrosse case, to have his license revoked. Endless talk about him, the Duke lacrosse case and the N.C. justice system appears all over the virtual world in blogs and forums. Our survey was mentioned here, among many other comments about the situation.

Sure, we all have our doubts about the justice system from time to time. But when a case like this occurs these doubts turn into anger? outrage? bigger questions? lose of hope? How do you feel about the case/Nifong?

What do you think about the filed memorandum and its timing? Does that say something in itself? Tell us what you think...

Leaders' Importance to Economic Improvement

Clearly, many people have major concerns about the economy. We're sure it isn't just the Michiganders who evaluate their leaders critically. The Brogan Survey and various media outlets have allowed interesting conversations and thoughts to surface about issues crucial to everyday life.

As we said in earlier blogs, Michiganders graded their leaders below average. We found in the crosstabs that race played a factor in who people thought were the biggest obstacles to the economy.

What we'd now like to examine is how people responded to the question, "And of these five groups, which ONE group is the most important in helping to turn Michigan’s economy around?" Most Michiganders, 46% of them, thought elected officials are most important in improving the economy. 24.2% thought it was up to the business leaders. The pie chart shows the distribution of responses to this question.

Who do you think is most important in turning the economy around? How do you feel the economy is where you live? Who is to blame/praise for that? Who would you like to see contributing more to an improvement?

Younger Adults Enjoy Negotiating Car Prices, Brogan Survey Says

Despite what many people believe, just as many women as men prefer negotiating the purchase price of a car. Both genders were split pretty evenly when asked if they prefer a negotiable or fixed price, according to the Brogan Survey.

What many people don't even think about, however, is whether a price preference difference exists based on age. Turns out, it does.

An unexpected 89.7% of 18-24 year olds enjoy negotiating the purchase price of a car. Nearly twice as many of them answered this way as compared to the other respondents, who had only 42.7% to 48.9% saying they enjoy negotiation.

What do you think about this? Is there a reason for the difference in preference? It would seem as though the more experience you had in making big purchases, the more confident you would become, the more enjoyable getting a good deal would be. Michiganders say otherwise. Are young adults seemingly invincible in their negotiating capabilities? What are your thoughts?

North Carolinians Support Disbarring Nifong, Brogan Survey Says

According to the Brogan Survey results, 49.2 % of North Carolinians support disbarring Mike Nifong, prosecutor of the Duke Lacrosse case.

The case certainly raised eyebrows and called North Carolina's justice system into question. As the case and its implications became hot topics across the United States, we thought it would be revealing to ask questions about perceptions of the justice system in North Carolina.

Results showed that 64.6% of respondents felt the justice system "usually gets it right" while 22% felt it "usually gets it wrong". What is particularly interesting is that many more Caucasians answered "usually gets it right" (71%) than African Americans (50.7%).

30.9% of African Americans answered "usually gets it wrong" as compared to only 19% of Caucasians responding that way.

Finally, the divide in support for revoking Nifong's license is quite staggering when race is factored in. More than double the amount of Caucasians support revoking his license--57.3% compared to 25.7% of African Americans.

Just another interesting tidbit discovered from the survey. How do you feel about the justice system? The Duke Lacrosse case? Do you think there are implications to the varying opinions between races?

Importance of Car Manufacturer Varies By Age

Purchasing a car requires consumers to consider many different automobile qualities. Interestingly enough, the Brogan Survey found that the importance of where the car is made varies greatly by age.

When asked, "Would you say it is very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not important at all that the automobile you purchase be made in the United States?" the older population of Michigan was much more likely to respond "very important" than the younger population.

In each age group that included people over 35, over half responded "very important" to the above question; from 54.6% of 35-44 year olds to 71.3% of the 65+ crowd answering in such a way. On the other side of the age spectrum, only 34.5% of 18-24 year olds and 30.3% of25-34 year olds said it was "very important" for their car to be made in the U.S.

Approximately double the portion of the 35 and over population felt purchasing an automobile made in the U.S. was "very important" as compared to the 18-34 year olds. Click here to view crosstabs.

Is there a generation gap in the way we buy? What does this mean for different industries? Or is there just a change in what Generation X values? What do you think?