The United Health Foundation (UHF) and the American Public Health Association (APHA) made a comprehensive report that has ranked states on every aspect from personal behaviors, like smoking and exercise. The measures of community well-being are compiled from secondary sources, such as government surveys, and placed in a common metric so that the states can be compared with each other.

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America's Health Rankings is an annual report that analyzes the nation's health and ranks the states from healthiest to the unhealthiest. The report is the result of the collaborative work of the United Health Foundation, American Public Health Association, and Partnership for Prevention.

The healthiest sate in the U.S is Hawaii. Hawaii has the biggest decrease in the number of people who smoke and the amount of violent crime. The state holds a long history of being ranked as one of the healthiest in the country. The second healthiest state is Vermont.

People in Minnesota were found to be have been more physically active this year, but the prevalence of diabetes brought them to the third place. In fourth place is Massachusetts, which has the the lowest obesity rates in the nation - just 23% of the adult population.

New Hampshire held on the same rank as last year. Holding the sixth place is Utah where smoking and binge drinking is less than the other states. Connecticut also held on to its same rank as last year.

The best air quality in the country can be found in Colorado. This state stole the number eight spot from North Dakota this year. North Dakota, which is in the ninth place this year, has more kids who have graduated from high school this year and also more public health funding available per person. Lastly, the tenth healthiest state is New Jersey where over the past 10 years the rate of cardiovascular deaths has decreased by 1/3.

The country as a whole is seeing some improvements, according to the report. An eight percent decrease in preventable hospitalizations and an 11 % decrease in physical inactivity are some of national successes noted. There has also been an increase in the prevalence of recommended vaccinations and a decrease in smoking rates.

TagsHealthiest City, United States of America, improvements, stategy, The 10 Healthiest States in America