America’s Health Rankings™ Finds Advances in Disease Treatment, but Not Disease Prevention; Preventable Chronic Diseases Threaten Access and Affordability of Medical Care

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Categories · Health/Science · Statistics/Database	• America’s Health Rankings™ Finds Advances in Disease Treatment, but Not Disease Prevention; Preventable Chronic Diseases Threaten Access and Affordability of Medical Care * Diseases associated with smoking, poor eating habits and inactivity are costing Americans trillions Jump to full article: Business Wire, 2009-11-17 Intro: Many public health scholars believe that obesity has become equal to, and may overtake tobacco use, as the most significant risk factor for death and disease in the nation. That is in part because, while smoking has declined slightly in the past 20 years and it still exacts extraordinary health consequences on our nation, obesity is on a dangerous, and as yet unchecked, trajectory. * Smoking -- Biggest Battle of Past 20 Years: Despite focused efforts, nearly one in five Americans still smoke. Over the past year, more than 3 million people have quit smoking, suggesting that interventions such as smoke-free laws, smoking bans, increased cigarette taxes, access to smoking cessation programs and other interventions may have a positive impact. . . . This year, the Rankings not only provided an annual list of the healthiest and least healthy states, but also determined which states had improved the most over the past 20 years in overall health and how the states compared in their progress against smoking and obesity since 1990. 2009 State Rankings The 2009 Anniversary Edition shows Vermont as the healthiest state this year. The state has had a steady climb in the Rankings for the past 12 years, moving up from 20th in 1990. Utah climbed from a ranking of fifth to second this year, followed by Massachusetts (3), Hawaii (4) and New Hampshire (5) to round out the Top 5 healthiest states for 2009. For the second year in a row, Utah leads the nation as the state with the lowest prevalence of smoking, and Colorado ranks as the state with the lowest prevalence of obesity. . . . Over the past 20 years, New York has demonstrated the most improvement in the overall health of its population. This improvement has primarily been driven by a 60 percent reduction in violent crime and significant reductions in infant mortality and smoking rates. Jump to full article »