The United Health Foundation has released its 2011 America’s Heath Rankings report, which finds that overall, the country’s health did not improve between 2010 and 2011. Here are the top lines: annual improvement in health has declined by 69 percent over the last decade, 27.5 percent of Americans are obese, 17.3 percent smoke, and 8.7 percent have diabetes.
The bad news for 2011:
– 2.2 percent increase in obesity.
– 4.8 percent increase in diabetes.
– 3.9 percent increase in child poverty.
The good news for 2011:
– 3.4 percent decline in smoking.
– 3.4 percent decline in preventable hospitalizations.
– 2.8 percent decline in cardiovascular deaths.
Vermont is still the healthiest state, with New York and New Jersey showing the most improvement, particularly in smoking cessation. “Idaho and Alaska showed the most downward movement. Idaho dropped 10 spots, from number nine to 19,” the report finds:
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