Vermont ranked healthiest state in country; Minnesota is second
By Dave Gram
Associated Press
MONTPELIER, Vt. --Smoking is down, fewer children are living in poverty and Vermont is doing a better job on prenatal care, according to a report issued Monday that calls it the healthiest state in the nation.
New England, as a region, scored well in the 18th annual report by the United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and the Partnership for Prevention: New Hampshire was ranked fourth, Maine seventh, Massachusetts ninth and Rhode Island 11th.
"Vermont moved to the top of the list of healthiest states after a steady climb in the rankings for the past seven years," the groups said in a report titled: "America's Health Rankings: A Call to Action for People and their Communities."
Vermont surpassed Minnesota, which dropped to second in the 2007 rankings. Hawaii, New Hampshire and Connecticut rounded out the top five. The least healthy states were clustered in the south: the 46th through 50th spots went to Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
The report found that overall, the nation's health declined by 0.3 percent since last year, with improvements in reducing in cancer and cardiovascular deaths overshadowed by increasing obesity, higher numbers of uninsured people, more children in poverty and continuing high rates of risky behaviors like tobacco use and violent crime.
It said the nation's health improved steadily through the 1990s but had stagnated or declined during this decade.
"The failure to demonstrate progress is particularly worrisome given that the U.S. continues to trail other nations in important health indicators such as infant mortality and healthy life expectancy," the groups said in a statement.
(Continued here.)
Associated Press
MONTPELIER, Vt. --Smoking is down, fewer children are living in poverty and Vermont is doing a better job on prenatal care, according to a report issued Monday that calls it the healthiest state in the nation.
New England, as a region, scored well in the 18th annual report by the United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and the Partnership for Prevention: New Hampshire was ranked fourth, Maine seventh, Massachusetts ninth and Rhode Island 11th.
"Vermont moved to the top of the list of healthiest states after a steady climb in the rankings for the past seven years," the groups said in a report titled: "America's Health Rankings: A Call to Action for People and their Communities."
Vermont surpassed Minnesota, which dropped to second in the 2007 rankings. Hawaii, New Hampshire and Connecticut rounded out the top five. The least healthy states were clustered in the south: the 46th through 50th spots went to Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
The report found that overall, the nation's health declined by 0.3 percent since last year, with improvements in reducing in cancer and cardiovascular deaths overshadowed by increasing obesity, higher numbers of uninsured people, more children in poverty and continuing high rates of risky behaviors like tobacco use and violent crime.
It said the nation's health improved steadily through the 1990s but had stagnated or declined during this decade.
"The failure to demonstrate progress is particularly worrisome given that the U.S. continues to trail other nations in important health indicators such as infant mortality and healthy life expectancy," the groups said in a statement.
(Continued here.)
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