The annual America’s Health Rankings report for 2013 has just been released. And while it shows American’s made considerable progress in their overall health, the state of Texas still comes in in the bottom half – at number 36. The main challenges? Physical inactivity and high number of uninsured.
Texans’ weight is literally weighing the state down in the rankings. Texas dropped a notch in the United Health Foundation’s rankings, the state is now 36th out of the 50 states.
The magic number assigned to states — determined since 1990 by the United Health Foundation, American Public Health Association, and Partnership for Prevention — takes into consideration 27 health measures, ranging from specific behaviors to clinical care to policy.
First, The Positive
- Low rate of drug deaths
- Few poor mental health days per month
- Low rate of cancer deaths
In the past year, Texas has also made significant progress in lowering the prevalence of binge drinking, preventable hospitalizations, and violent crime, according to Dr. Rhonda Randall, D.O., senior adviser to United Health Foundation.
The Challenges
- High prevalence of physical inactivity — Texas ranked 42nd out of fifty states
- High percentage of uninsured population — Texas ranked 50th out of 50 states
- Large disparity in health status by educational attainment
So Who’s Number One?
The state of Hawaii was number one. The palm trees and fresh coconut milk probably help.
