Minnesota named healthiest U.S. state

[DirtyKash]

Minnesota Stays At Top Of 'Healthiest States' List

State Rankings Find Overall Health Gains

POSTED: 4:41 pm EST December 12, 2005


MINNETONKA, Minn. -- Minnesota is the healthiest state in the United States, according to an annual ranking from the United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention.

Minnesota has been one of the top two since 1990. Vermont, New Hampshire, Utah and Hawaii round out the top five.

The rankings take a wide variety of factors into account. Smoking, exercise, nutrition, deaths of people younger than 75 and prenatal care are just some of the criteria, most of which focus on risk factors associated with healthy life expectancy and preventable disease.

Mississippi is last in the rankings, down one notch from last year. Louisiana is 49th, while Tennessee, South Carolina and Arkansas complete the bottom five states.

Overall, the report found strong health gains across the country since 1990, but the pace of improvement is slowing.

"Our nation's slowing rate of improvement should be of concern to us all," said Dr. William McGuire, chairman of the United Health Foundation Board of Directors. "Failure to address this trend, and especially to decrease the risk factors that are associated with premature death and disease, will result in preventable misery and unnecessary death for too many Americans in the years to come."

The report also suggested that health status is intimately related to larger socioeconomic forces. It pointed to troubling trends in factors such as children living in poverty, high school graduation rates and the number of people without health insurance.

Rank State
1 Minnesota
2 Vermont
3 New Hampshire
4 Utah
5 Hawaii
6 North Dakota
7 Connecticut
8 Maine
9 Massachusetts
10 Iowa
11 Nebraska
12 Rhode Island
13 Wisconsin
14 Washington
15 New Jersey
16 Idaho
17 Colorado
18 Oregon
19 South Dakota
20 Wyoming
21 Montana
22 California
23 Kansas
24 Virginia
25 Pennsylvania
26 Ohio
27 New York
28 Illinois
29 Michigan
30 Alaska
31 Arizona
32 Indiana
33 Delaware
34 Maryland
35 Missouri
36 North Carolina
37 Nevada
38 New Mexico
39 Texas
40 Florida
41 West Virginia
42 Kentucky
43 Georgia
44 Oklahoma
45 Alabama
46 Arkansas
47 South Carolina
48 Tennessee
49 Louisiana
50 Mississippi

[PacMan]

Haha the whole south is on the bottom. I thought NJ would be lower, always people smoking here.

[go_bucs2000]

where right there in the middle PA...we do have the chesse steak...primani samiches and well my US History teacher who is not the slimest but I never knew Minnesota was the healthiest and the smaller states coming high

[Bosox21]

I thought Alaska would be way higher, just seems like it would be a healthy state. I guess alot of people got eaten by bears, or something

[General]

27...right in the middle.

Would have been last if not for upstate.

[HuskerFan2002]

We eat corn. That's what makes us healthy.

[ATLien]

tofu eatin wusses

[777rak]

Dang California is not even in the to 10, its 21 wow.

[awefullspellare]

We eat corn. That's what makes us healthy.

And we power our cars by running.

[Lynch]

Hahaha... the redneck states are in the bottom 10 again. Yeeeeeehaaaaaww!

[DravenX]

I live in VA at the moment but I could move whenever. My parents live in TN though, number 48.