Utah Named 5th Healthiest State in Nation

Utah continued its steady climb toward achieving the UDOH strategic goal of becoming the healthiest state in the nation with the release of the annual United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings™ report. The report named Utah the 5th healthiest state in the nation, improving on its rank of 6th in 2013 and 7th in 2012.

The report highlighted several strengths that lead to Utah’s ranking, including the lowest rates in the nation for tobacco use (10.3 percent) and cancer deaths (145.7 deaths per 100,000 residents), and the second-lowest rate in the nation of adult diabetes (7.1 percent).

Utah was ranked as one of the top five states for several key health indicators, including:

• The lowest adult smoking rate in the U.S. at 10.3%

• The lowest prevalence of adult diabetes at 7.1%

• The lowest cancer death rate

• The 2nd lowest rate of preventable hospitalizations

• The 4th lowest rate of obese adults at 24.1%

• The 5th lowest rate of adults reporting “poor physical health” days in the past month

The report also highlighted several challenges Utah must overcome to achieve its goal of becoming the healthiest state. Utah ranked low in the following categories:

• 46th for prescription drug overdose deaths

• 45th for cases of Pertussis, or whooping cough

• 44th for teen immunization rates

• 44th for the number of primary care physicians

• 39th for air pollution

To read the entire report, and see how Utah stacked up against other states, visit the United Health Foundation's website.