16th Annual America’s Health Rankings Shows Sickly Rate of Improvement After Significant Health Gains in 1990s

United Health Foundation, together with the American Public Health Association (APHA) and Partnership for Prevention, today released the 16th annual America’s Health Rankings™ at the APHA’s Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. Visit www.americashealthrankings.org to view the entire report.

While this year’s report shows that the health of the American population has improved 18.4 percent since 1990, the rate of improvement has slowed dramatically due to a combination of personal, community and public health factors. During the 1990s, health in the United States improved by an annual rate of 1.5 percent. Since 2000, that number has slipped to an average of just 0.3 percent each year – an 80 percent decrease in the rate of improvement.

“Our nation’s slowing rate of improvement should be of concern to us all. Failure to address this trend, and especially to decrease the risk factors that are associated with premature death and disease, will result in preventable misery and unnecessary death for too many Americans in the years to come,” stated William McGuire, M.D., chairman, United Health Foundation Board of Directors.

According to the 2005 report, premature death, which is described as the number of years of potential life lost prior to age 75 per 100,000 population, decreased from 8,716 to 7,398 between 1990 and 2000 – a 15 percent drop. Unfortunately, that progress has begun to erode as premature death experienced an increase between 2000 and 2005.

Additionally, America’s Health Rankings reports that 28 countries have healthy life expectancies greater than that experienced in the United States, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan. In fact, a child born in Japan can expect to experience five additional years of healthy, active life when compared to a child born in the United States.

“This comparative information is extremely important because it is an indication that we as a nation have not achieved optimal health,” explained Georges Benjamin, M.D., executive director, APHA. “As Americans, it is apparent that we can – and must – do better to improve overall health status. And, we must do it now.”

America’s Health Rankings also focuses special attention on the key risk factors that are associated with healthy life expectancy and preventable disease, such as the prevalence of obesity, the prevalence of smoking and the adequacy of prenatal care. According to the report, the prevalence of obesity has increased from 11.6 percent of the population in 1990 to 23.1 percent of the population in 2005. Today, nearly 1 in 4 people are considered obese, and the rate of increase shows no evidence of slowing.

Additionally, the progress made in reducing the prevalence of smoking has leveled off. While there has been a 30 percent overall decrease in the prevalence of smoking since 1990, much of the decrease occurred in the early 1990s. From 1993 to 2003, no noteworthy improvement was made in decreasing the overall prevalence of smoking in the United States. In fact, despite considerable effort, 20.8 percent of Americans still smoke.

Another area of concern is the number of women who receive adequate prenatal care. During the early to mid-1990s, the percentage of women receiving adequate prenatal care experienced significant gains. By 2000, that upward trend had stalled. In fact, since last year’s report, the percentage of women receiving adequate prenatal care increased by a slight 0.7 percent.

“Reducing these risk factors for preventable disease requires comprehensive, community-wide interventions,” explained John Clymer, president, Partnership for Prevention. “Businesses and other employers must work more effectively with other community entities to improve health and address rising healthcare costs.”

Beyond health-specific risk factors, a major premise of America’s Health Rankings is that health status is intimately related to larger socioeconomic forces. As such, the report indicates troubling trends in factors such as children living in poverty, high school graduation rates, and the number of people without public or private health insurance.

Specifically, since the 2004 report, the number of children living in poverty increased in 25 states. High school graduation rates slid from 72.9 percent in 1990 to 68.3 percent in 2005. And in seven states, less than 60 percent of incoming 9 th graders graduate in four years. Additionally, the percentage of people who lack public or private health insurance continues to climb. Since the 2004 report, the percentage of uninsured has increased in 26 states. Today, more than 15 percent of the U.S. population lacks health insurance.

“There is no doubt that these social and environmental issues are adversely affecting the health of our nation. However, the good news is that there is an important role each of us can play in helping to realize a healthier America,” explained Reed Tuckson, M.D., vice president, United Health Foundation. “United Health Foundation, the APHA, and Partnership for Prevention encourage everyone to become active in taking the steps necessary to improve health. This means that individuals should make appropriate personal health choices, actively support local community-based organizations and institutions, and advocate with elected and public health officials for necessary resources.”

About America’s Health Rankings

America’s Health Rankings is a comprehensive, multi-dimensional, yearly analysis of the relative healthiness of the American population . To produce a composite assessment of each state’s health, t he report utilizes 18 traditional and nontraditional measures such as prevalence of smoking, high school graduation rates, infant mortality rates, per capita public health spending and immunization coverage.

These 18 measures reflect three essential contributors to health, which include:

• Decisions made by individuals that promote health and prevent disease;

• The community environment that affects the health of individuals and families, and;

• The health policies made by public and elected officials that determine the availability of public health and medical resources.

2005 Results

The 2005 edition of America’s Health Rankings reports that Minnesota is the healthiest state. Vermont and New Hampshire are ranked second and third, followed by Utah, Hawaii and North Dakota. States rounding out the bottom of the list include Tennessee (48), Louisiana (49) and Mississippi (50).

As noted before, the trend of slowed health improvement, which began in 2000, was again demonstrated by the nominal 0.9 percent improvement in health status revealed in this year’s report. Challenges that impeded year-over-year improvement include an increase in the prevalence of obesity to 23.1 percent of the population and an increase in the number of children living in poverty.

History

America’s Health Rankings is a yearly analysis of the healthiness of the American population using information supplied by credible sources such as the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Commerce, Education, and Labor, and the National Safety Council. Led by the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a prominent panel of public health scholars guides the methodology for the report. An independent research group analyzes the data to author the report.

About United Health Foundation

United Health Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit foundation funded solely by UnitedHealth Group. The foundation is dedicated to providing information in support of the health and medical decisions made by physicians and health professionals, individuals and community leaders.

For more information about United Health Foundation and its work, please visit www.unitedhealthfoundation.org.

About the American Public Health Association

The American Public Health Association, the oldest and largest organization of public health professionals, represents more than 50,000 members from over 50 public health occupations. More information is available at www.apha.org.

About Partnership for Prevention

Partnership for Prevention is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that develops evidence-based solutions to major national health challenges.

The partnership’s mission is to improve Americans’ health by preventing illness and injury and by promoting health. Its members include leading employers, health care providers, patient groups, health policy organizations, academic health centers and public health agencies. Information about policies and interventions to improve states’ health status can be found at www.prevent.org.

Contact: Media Relations, (202) 777-2509
media.relations@apha.org