States With The Least Healthy (And Healthiest) Populations, RankedCassidy Horton and Korrena Bailie
Updated: Jan 8, 2024, 6:10am
FORBES
Good health can allow you to fully participate in the activities you enjoy and live life to the fullest. Yet many Americans struggle with chronic health conditions that hamper their quality of life. Six in 10 American adults have at least one chronic disease and four in 10 have two or more, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC defines a chronic disease as a condition that lasts at least a year and requires ongoing medical attention or can inhibit daily life—or both.
Unfortunately, the rate of chronic disease is projected to increase over the next few decades. Between 2025 and 2060, the number of Americans with diabetes is expected to increase by 39.3%, hypertension by 27.2% and obesity by 18.3%, according to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Some states have higher rates of chronic disease than others, in part due to unhealthy lifestyles and high substance abuse.
To determine which states have the healthiest and least healthy populations, Forbes Advisor compared all 50 states across 21 metrics spanning three categories: disease risk factors and prevalence, substance abuse, lifestyle habits and health outlook. ...
Key Takeaways *West Virginia tops the list of states with the least healthy populations, while Hawaii ranks as the state with the healthiest residents.
*Eight of the top 10 least healthy states are in the South: West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana and Oklahoma.
*Five of the top 10 healthiest states are on the East Coast: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire and New York.
*Mississippi ranks worst overall in our disease risk factors and prevalence category, West Virginia residents have the worst lifestyle habits and health outlook and Vermont is the worst state for substance abuse.
Full story:
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/life-insurance/states-ranked-least-healthy-populations/