The Healthiest and Unhealthiest States Ranked for 2015
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — For the 4th consecutive year, America’s 50th State ranks as the healthiest state in the Union, according to the United Health Foundation.
The organization’s America’s Health Rankings, billed as the longest-running, comprehensive state-by-state study of the nation’s health, says Hawaii tops their list, followed by Vermont, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Hampshire.
On the other side of the spectrum, Louisiana ranked as the least healthy state this year, bumping Mississippi from dead last to 49th place. Rounding out the five most unhealthy states are Arkansas, West Virginia, and Alabama.
The list also revealed that infant mortality has plummeted 40% since 1990, there has been a 23% reduction in cardiovascular deaths in the U.S., and a 30% drop in preventable hospitalizations.
Smoking rates in the U.S. continue to drop, the list’s data revealed, and even though obesity and diabetes continue to be a huge problem in the country, health problems due to inactivity have dropped 11 percent.
The list also revealed that drug deaths in the country have jumped 13.5% since 1990, and that the shaky economy continues to take a toll on the youngest Americans: childhood poverty has shot up to 21 percent. By comparison in 2002, 34% fewer people under the age of 18 lived below the poverty line.
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