There’s some good news as we approach 2017. Minnesota is the fourth-healthiest state in the nation, according to another annual study released by “United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings.”
The report examined 34 measures of behaviors, health policies, clinical-care data and other statistics.
Hawaii, for the fifth consecutive year, is rated first for health, followed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota and Vermont.
On a nationwide level, the report is filled with good news/bad news. For example, many more people now have health insurance (with the uninsured rate now at 10.6 percent, the lowest rate in the report’s 27-year history); the smoking rate has declined (17 percent in just the past four years, and since 1990 by 40 percent); also declining was the rate of preventable hospitalizations among Medicare recipients (13 percent in just the past year).
On the other hand, obesity has increased among adults; there are more deaths due to cardiovascular disease; and there is an increase in the misuse of legal and illegal drugs. All those preventable factors point to health problems leading to a generally higher rate of deaths at earlier-than-normal ages.
As Obamacare remains under frequent attacks, it’s worth noting that it did, despite some problems, hugely help decrease the rate of the uninsured by 35 percent in the past few years.
Like the nation at large, Minnesota, despite its high marks, shows a mixed record. It rates very well for a lower rate of children in poverty (about 8 percent) and a small percentage of people lacking health insurance (5.2 percent). On the negative side, there is a high prevalence of excessive drinking (21.1 percent); lower per-capita public-health funding; and an unacceptably high rate of pertussis (whooping cough, which can be fatal in some children). Minnesota gains high marks for its education, and yet its high-school graduation point is a disappointing 81.9 percent, according to the study.
All in all, Minnesota seems to be on the right track as a leader in many health-related factors: fewer cardiovascular deaths, fewer violent crimes, less obesity, fewer premature deaths and less air pollution.
The states at the bottom of the list are all Southern states: Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and – at the very bottom – Mississippi. To appreciate Minnesota’s high ranking, all one need do is to compare it to Mississippi’s ratings: children in poverty (28 percent); smoking rate (23 percent); obesity (36 percent); and high-school graduation (75 percent). One of Mississippi’s pluses is the relatively low excessive-drinking rate (13 percent).
It’s no time to rest on laurels or to gloat. All states, even No. 1-rated Hawaii, could certainly use some improvements. The most optimistic factor in the report is that individual responsibility through wise choices can add up to big statewide and nationwide improvements: better nutrition and more exercise leading to less obesity and better overall health; moderation in the use of alcohol; total abstinence from dangerous drugs; parents ensuring their children are vaccinated; an insistence that students graduate from high school, perhaps making the acquisition of a driver’s license dependent upon successful graduation with acceptable grades.
We, Americans, in every state of the nation should all keep these lifestyle choices/changes in mind when pondering our New Year’s resolutions.
