Vermont earned the top health rating in the United States for the third year in a row, according to the 2011 edition of "America’s Health Rankings."
New England is well represented in the top five, with New Hampshire second, Connecticut third, and Massachusetts fifth. Hawaii is ranked fourth. The lowest-ranked state is Mississippi, with Louisiana 49th, Oklahoma 48th, Arkansas 47th, and Alabama 46th. Mississippi has been the 50th-ranked state for the last 10 years, and has finished among the bottom three every year since the rankings were first compiled in 1990, the report notes.
"America’s Health Rankings" is published jointly by United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association, and Partnership for Prevention. The private, not-for-profit United Health Foundation was founded in 1999 by UnitedHealth Group, which operates UnitedHealthcare.
Note: State scores are calculated using 23 measures, including early prenatal care, poor mental health days, obesity prevalence, air pollution, and public health funding.
Source: United Health Foundation