Healthiest/Unhealthiest States in the Union

[Spence]

The gist of it seems to be, northern states [and Hawaii] are the healthiest states and southern states are the unhealthiest.

Minnesota was deemed the healthiest U.S. state for the fourth year in a row, while Louisiana slumped into last place as the least healthy in annual state-by-state rankings released by on Tuesday.

Vermont placed second as it did in 2005 with New Hampshire, Hawaii and Connecticut rounding out the five healthiest states in the report by the United Health Foundation, a nonprofit group formed by health care company UnitedHealth Group.

They were followed in order by Utah, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Maine and Wisconsin.

Louisiana dropped to 50th from 49th last year. The others in the bottom 10 included last year's cellar-dweller Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Georgia and Florida.

The report weighed a series of factors in determining rankings, such as prevalence of obesity, smoking, infectious disease, cardiovascular deaths, infant mortality, child poverty, immunization rates, workplace deaths and auto deaths.

Southern states performed particularly poorly while those in New England and some in the Upper Midwest fared well.

Minnesota has been ranked No. 1 in 11 of the 17 annual reports issued since 1990. The report said Minnesota stayed on top thanks to ranking best in the key categories of fewest residents without health insurance and lowest cardiovascular deaths and premature deaths.

Louisiana, parts of which were slammed by Hurricane Katrina last year, has been among the bottom two states every year the report has been issued. It placed among the bottom five states in six key categories: obesity, workplace deaths, child poverty, infant mortality, cancer deaths and premature deaths.

The United States as a whole experienced a slight rise in health over last year, the report stated, but lags behind many other nations in key measures such as infant mortality.
...
"Since 1990, America is a healthier place. The bad news: since the year 2000, we've made very little progress. The health of the nation has become stagnant," Tuckson said.

Tuckson cited a dramatic increase in obesity, a rising number of Americans -- 46.6 million in a country of 300 million -- without health insurance, and smoking by 21 percent of U.S. adults, lower than many countries but still problematic.

States making the most improvement in the past year were Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Kansas, the report found, while those with the biggest declines were New Mexico, Idaho and West Virginia.

Source

[redskin_rich]

Simple reason why the north is generally healthier than the south, the food is better in the south.

[smoot]

Originally Posted by redskin_rich

Simple reason why the north is generally healthier than the south, the food is better in the south.

minus the pastries of the new jersey/new york region, there is no arguing with that

[Spence]

There's a pretty close correlation between wealth and health, actually. The richer you are, the more likely you are to be slim. The poorer you are, the more likely you are to be fat. Lots of cheap foods are very high in saturated fats. Also, notice that a lot of those northern states are famous for outdoor sports. Utah, Vermont, New Hampshire are all well-known for skiing. You've got hunting and hiking and fishing, as well.

Southern food cooked in the home tends to be very high in fat, at least compared with food in the north or the coastal and interior west. But I think that's less of a reason than it once was. Processed foods that are very high in fat, like Doritos and potato chips, are common everywhere and very popular, especially with people on smaller incomes. I think that has a lot to do with it.

Will South Carolina's ranking improve now that Akhh has moved north?

[RedskinsDave]

Virginia beat Merlund and that's all that matters.

[Spence]

Originally Posted by RedskinsDave

Virginia beat Merlund and that's all that matters.

I'm pretty sure we can blame that on the Baltimorons. Orioles fans have been offing themselves a lot lately and heroin really isn't one of the four food groups, you know.

[dj_stouty]

Originally Posted by RedskinsDave

Virginia beat Merlund and that's all that matters.

[shally]

Originally Posted by redskin_rich

Simple reason why the north is generally healthier than the south, the food is better in the south.

of course.. in louisiana they fry everything.. pickles, broccoli, zucchini,..

even snickers bars !!!

we used 2 or 3 fats in every thing..


best tasting food inthe nation-- bar none... but at a cost..

add in the rampant alcohol over use and you get some idea why louisiana is where it is..

[shally]

Originally Posted by Spence

There's a pretty close correlation between wealth and health, actually. The richer you are, the more likely you are to be slim. The poorer you are, the more likely you are to be fat. Lots of cheap foods are very high in saturated fats. Also, notice that a lot of those northern states are famous for outdoor sports. Utah, Vermont, New Hampshire are all well-known for skiing. You've got hunting and hiking and fishing, as well.

Southern food cooked in the home tends to be very high in fat, at least compared with food in the north or the coastal and interior west. But I think that's less of a reason than it once was. Processed foods that are very high in fat, like Doritos and potato chips, are common everywhere and very popular, especially with people on smaller incomes. I think that has a lot to do with it.

Will South Carolina's ranking improve now that Akhh has moved north?

the state bourbon consumption should plummet

[SkinsfaninNJ]

I think its strange the warmer climate in the south doesn't play a larger factor unless its too hot which I can't answer. I know here in this area, it is very common to lose weight in the summer, for lots of reasons including more strenuous activity and a desire to look better in less clothing, and gain weight in the winter.