What is the state of America’s health?
Depends on where you live.
Researchers have been releasing theAmerica’s Health Rankings Annual Reportfor 26 years running.
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In Hawaii, the average was 2.7 days (tied with South Dakota).
Vermont has the lowest violent crime rate in the country.
And only 6.1 percent of population is uninsured (third lowest among all the states).
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Topping the list of most-insured states?
Massachusetts, with 96.5 percent of its residents covered.
The state has the third lowest obesity rate, after Colorado (#1) and Hawaii.
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New Hampshire ranks near the top of the list for immunizations among children and adolescents.
Half of female teens in the state get theHPV vaccine.
(Go, New Hampshire!)
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Less smoking and diabetes, and fewer cancer deaths than anywhere else in the country.
In case there was any question, living in the Rockies rocks.
Colorado stomped the rest of the U.S. with the lowest rates of physical inactivity and obesity.
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That can’t be a coincidence.
Washington eked into the top 10 after being 13th in 2014.
The report noted the state’s low incidence of infectious disease and cardiovascular deaths.
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But it’s better than average in air pollution, so that’s something.
Common themes among the bottom 10 states are high rates of obesity, too muchsmokingand not enough physical activity.
For the record, in 1990, fewer than 12 percent of adults were clinically obesity.
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The rate of diabetes incidence in adults is up to 10 percent now.
It was 4.4 percent 20 years ago.
Also, there was a decline in physical inactivity and in the incidence ofSalmonellainfections.
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Today, 71.6 percent of babies aged 19 to 35 months are getting their recommended immunizations.
That’s up from under 60 percent in 1996.
And more teen girls are getting the HPV vax.
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That number has dropped now to 22.6 percent.
Smoking is down from 19 percent of American adults last year to 18.1 percent this year.
That’s progress, but it still means that one in six adults smokes.
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All great news, America.
Let’s keep it up, shall we?
Didn’t see your state?
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you’re free to read the full reporthere.
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