http://aolsvc.health.webmd.aol.com/content/article/85/98524.htm?DEST=WebMDcontentSRC=aolmainHow Healthy Is Your State?What's the state of your health? Odds are, it's better if you live in New Hampshire than in Mississippi.
By Daniel DeNoon
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
on Tuesday, April 06, 2004 April 6, 2004 -- What's the state of your health? Odds are, it's better if you live in New Hampshire than in Mississippi.
Those odds come from the annual "Healthiest State Award" given each year by Morgan Quitno Press. Every year, the company analyzes a wide range of statistics and ranks the 50 United States.
Drum roll, please! This year's healthiest state: New Hampshire, which surged past perennial winner Vermont.
And keeping its rank as the least healthy state in the Union for the fifth year in a row: Mississippi.
Morgan Quitno ranks states according to 21 criteria. These include three "positive" factors:
Beds in community hospitals per 100,000 population
Percent of children age 19-35 months who got all their recommended vaccinations
Rate of safety belt use
And there were 18 negative criteria:
Percentage of low-weight births
Teen birth rate
Percentage of mothers getting late or no prenatal care
Death rate
Infant mortality rate
Cancer death rate (age adjusted)
Suicide rate (age adjusted)
Percentage of population not covered by health insurance
State spending on health care as a percentage of gross state product
Per-capita personal health costs
Rate of new cancer cases
AIDS rate
Sexually transmitted diseases rate
Percentage of population without access to primary care
Percentage of population who are binge drinkers
Percentage of adults who smoke
Percentage of adults who are obese
Number of days in past month when physical health was "not good"
Do you wonder where your state ranks? Complete information is available from Morgan Quitno Press. Here are their 2004 rankings:
1. New Hampshire. Last year: 2
2. Vermont. Last year: 1
3. Hawaii. Last year: 8
4. Iowa. Last year: 4
5. Minnesota. Last year: 5
6. Utah. Last year: 9
7. Nebraska. Last year: 3
8. Massachusetts. Last year: 6
9. Maine. Last year: 7
10. Connecticut. Last year: 11
11. New Jersey. Last year: 16
12. North Dakota. Last year: 10
13. Washington. Last year: 12
14. California. Last year: 14
15. Oregon. Last year: 19
16. Wyoming. Last year: 20
17. Kansas. Last year: 15
18. Rhode Island. Last year: 17
19. South Dakota. Last year: 13
20. Idaho. Last year: 21
21. Wisconsin. Last year: 23
22. Virginia. Last year: 22
23. Montana. Last year: 18
24. Ohio. Last year: 26
25. Michigan. Last year: 28
26. Pennsylvania. Last year: 24
27. Colorado. Last year: 25
28. Indiana. Last year: 27
29. Kentucky. Last year: 31
30. North Carolina. Last year: 29
31. Illinois. Last year: 32
32. Maryland. Last year: 35
33. New York. Last year: 33
34. West Virginia. Last year: 30
35. Alaska. Last year: 36
36. Tennessee. Last year: 37
37. Missouri. Last year: 34
38. Arkansas. Last year: 43
39. Oklahoma. Last year: 40
40. Arizona. Last year: 41
41. Florida. Last year: 44
42. Georgia. Last year: 42
43. Texas. Last year: 39
44. Delaware. Last year: 38
45. Nevada. Last year: 45
46. South Carolina. Last year: 48
47. Alabama. Last year: 47
48. Louisiana. Last year: 49
49. New Mexico. Last year: 46
50. Mississippi. Last year: 50
