Health & Medicine

Hawaii Ranked The Healthiest State

Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Dec 11, 2014 12:12 PM EST

Always wanted a vacation to Hawaii? The 25th-anniversary edition of America's Health rankings, published by the United Health Foundation, may give you another reason to take a trip down to most recent U.S. state. 

"We applaud hard-won advances in several key measures, including smoking prevalence, even as this year's America's Health Rankings is a solemn reminder that we have a lot more work ahead of us," said Dr. Reed Tuckson, senior medical adviser to United Health Foundation, via The State

Findings revealed that smoking prevalence declined by about 3 percent, with infant mortality down by 4 percent. Overall immunization coverage also jumped up to 5 percent.

However, the United states saw a 154 percent increase in whooping cough this past year, as well as a 7 percent increase in obesity, 3 percent rise in physical inactivity and a 7 percent increase in death from drug overdose.

Following Hawaii came Vermont, with Utah, Minnesota, Connecticut and Colorado among the top 10.

Mississippi came in last for its third year in a row. Furthermore, the state has never finished higher than 48th in the rankings, with just a few states hovering above it's unhealthy title: Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, Alabama, South Carolina and Indiana.

For more information on the rankings, click here.

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