Throwing in mixed
tidings, the U.S. Health Ranking Annual Report set forth an agenda for a
healthy America by calling on people to take up cudgels against obesity,
diabetes and other serious chronic conditions.
The 26th America's
Health Rankings report released by the UnitedHealth Foundation showed that
meaningful progress has been made on many health metrics such as reduced
smoking and less sedentary lifestyle. However, the report highlighted on an
increase in the rates of drug deaths, obesity, diabetes and poverty among
children.
Among the states,
Hawaii was crowned the healthiest for the fourth time, with Vermont and
Massachusetts following it. The fourth and fifth slot went to Minnesota and New
Hampshire, respectively and ranking last was Louisiana
Smoking rates are down
5 percent over the past year to 18.1 percent of the adult and has fallen an
appreciable 39 percent since 1990.
Rates of sedentary
behavior, or adults who reported no physical activity in the last 30 days,
declined 11 percent to 22.6 percent of adults.
In the year,
preventable hospitalizations declined 8 percent to 57.6 discharges per 1,000
Medicare beneficiaries. Further, longer-term trends reveal that cardiovascular
deaths and infant mortality continued to steadily decline.
Despite encouraging
gains, the report reminded that there is still more work to be done. Drug
deaths, including deaths from illegal drug use and prescription drug abuse,
jumped 4 percent over the last year, and self-reported obesity continues to
rise, affecting 29.6 percent, a 2.5-fold increase since 1990.
Self-reported diabetes
is also increasing, affecting 10 percent of the population on average, while
children living in poverty increased 6 percent to 21.1 percent of children
under 18 years of age.
Rhonda Randall, D.O.,
senior adviser to United Health Foundation called for increased support for the
nation's most vulnerable populations through innovative community-based
programs and solutions.
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