The nation’s top 10 healthiest states

United Health Foundation has released its annual report, “America‘s Health Rankings,” and the news is not good. The state-by-state study shows that America‘s health did not improve at all between 2010 and 2011. In the last decade, the annual improvement in American‘s health actually declined by 69% compared to the 1990s.*

Key findings of the report include:

• Obesity has increased by 137%, from 11.6% of the population to 27.5% in 2011.
• Smoking decreased from 17.9% to 17.3% of the adult population. But tobacco use is still responsible for approximately one in every five deaths.
• Diabetes diagnosis has increased significantly in the last five years. Approximately 8.7% of American adults have received a diagnosis of diabetes.

Dr. Reed Tuckson, board member of United Health Foundation, said, “[T]his year‘s Rankings sends a loud wakeup call that the burden of preventable chronic disease will continue to get worse unless we take urgent action.”

According to the report, the top 10 healthiest states are:

1. Vermont
2. New Hampshire
3. Connecticut
4. Hawaii
5. Massachusetts
6. Minnesota
7. Utah
8. Maine
9. Colorado
10. Rhode Island

*Comparison is based on the annual growth rate of 1990 to 2000 compared to 2000 to 2011.