Despite Massachusetts’s misguided affinity for puffing on lethal tobacco products, the Bay State is reportedly the fourth healthiest in the entire nation. The 2013 annual report of America’s Health Rankings by the United Health Foundation holds the wellbeing of Massachusetts in high esteem based on criteria like obesity prevalence, number of those insured, physical activity, graduation rates, and drinking habits. Hawaii is credited as the healthiest of all 50 states.
Massachusetts was joined in its top ten bid alongside New England brethren Vermont, number two; New Hampshire, number five; and Connecticut, number seven. Maine and Rhode Island clocked in at 15 and 17, respectively.
What’s perhaps most interesting about the Commonwealth’s designation is that where the report sees a shortcoming amongst residents, we see pride. One of our “challenges” in achieving and retaining good health is our “High prevalence of binge drinking,” an area in which we rank just 42nd. In order to curb this trend, though, Massachusetts leaders in the realms of politics, technology, education, and business are considering a number of various initiatives that could help Bay Staters jump back on the wagon.
And when it comes to that unattractive smoking habit citizens are much too attached to, things are looking up. Per the information, “In the past year, the prevalence of smoking decreased from 18.2 percent to 16.4 percent of adults; however, almost 860,000 adults still smoke in the state.” At least we’re trying, right?
But aside from those detrimental items, most of the data is positively correlated in our favor. Massachusetts boasts “Low prevalence of obesity… Low percentage of uninsured population… [and] Ready availability of primary care physicians & dentists.” We’ve also seen decreases in inactivity rates among adults, the number of uninsured adults (the lowest in the nation), and cardiovascular deaths, as well as an increase in high school graduation rates. For those we have to thanks the likes of Massachusetts General Hospital et al., the swarm of prestigious higher-ed institutions, and improved access to the likes of citywide biking and community workouts.
In order to accurately grade each state, the Foundation garnered statistics from a bevy of government organizations (The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Commerce, Education, Justice and Labor; US Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Census Bureau; the American Medical Association; the American Dental Association; the Dartmouth Atlas Project; and the Trust for America’s Health) and subsequently age-adjusted them to plug the numbers into a formula to create an accurate rank.
And thus, Massachusetts’s awesome and respectable health ranking was born.
Rounding out the top ten were Minnesota at number three, Utah at six, Colorado at eight, North Dakota at nine, and New Jersey at number ten.
