Residents of Hawaii are living in America’s healthiest state, according to "America's Health Rankings- 2013 Edition."
Hawaii, which has never finished out of the top six since the rankings began in 1990, reclaimed the top spot it last held in 2008. Vermont, which finished first in each of the previous 4 years, was second in 2013, followed by Minnesota, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
The bottom five consisted of West Virginia (46) and four states in the Southeast: Alabama (47), Louisiana (48), Arkansas (49), and Mississippi (50). Mississippi has finished "among the bottom three states since the inception of the rankings in 1990," the report said.
For the 2013 report, each state was ranked using 27 measures that represent various aspects of health, grouped into five categories: behaviors, community and environment, policy, clinical care, and outcomes.
"America’s Health Rankings" is published jointly by the United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association, and the Partnership for Prevention. The private, not-for-profit United Health Foundation was founded in 1999 by UnitedHealth Group, which operates UnitedHealthcare.
