United Health Foundation releases latest health rankings for states

The America's Health Rankings report by the United Healthcare Foundation, shows no improvement in the overall health of the nation this year, reports Anne Harding of Health.com. Since 2000, the improvement trend has slowed to 0.5 percent annually with this year being the first with no improvement at all. Public health experts who contributed to the report believe the bleak economic situation is compounding increases in obesity, diabetes and higher child poverty rates which all contribute to the rankings. (United Healthcare Foundation graphic)

Low rates "of infectious disease, high use of early prenatal care and relative lack of violent crime" deemed Vermont the healthiest state for the second year in a row, Harding reports. Four of the top five healthiest states were northeastern states with New Hampshire and Connecticut ranking second and third, with Massachusetts ranking fifth. On the flip side, obesity, childhood poverty and preventable hospitalizations keep several southeastern states at the bottom of the list. Mississippi came in last, as it has for the last decade. Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana finished out the bottom five. To see your state's ranking and results on an interactive map, click here.