Health News
- Less Than 60% Of Kentuckians Say They Visited A Dentist In The Past Year, Ranking The State 43rd In The Nation
Kentucky ranked 43rd among the 50 states in percentage of people who told pollsters that they had visited a dentist in the past 12 months. The rankings in the annual Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index appeared to be driven largely by income and insurance....
- Kentucky Ranked Sixth In Nation For Obesity, Fourth In High Blood Pressure, Second For Diabetes
A new report shows 29.5 percent of Kentuckians are obese, sixth highest in the nation. The state ranked second in the nation for the highest percentage of diabetes, with 13.7 percent of Kentucky residents diagnosed with the disease, and fourth in...
- Kentucky Ranks Next To Last, Fifth Congressional District Dead Last In National Healthiness And Happiness Survey
(Click on images for larger versions)Kentucky was again next to last among the states in happiness and healthiness of its residents in 2011, ranking above only West Virginia, though precise rankings are uncertain. Eastern Kentucky's Fifth Congressional...
- Kentucky Ranks 36th For Tobacco Prevention Spending; Many States Have Made Cuts
Though it received $389 million in tobacco-settlement funds in fiscal year 2012, and ranks first or second in tobacco use, Kentucky spent just $2.2 million of that on prevention of tobacco use. The figures rank Kentucky 36th in the nation for helping...
- Well-being Index Gives Rankings For Kentucky's Congressional Districts And Metropolitan Areas; Some Are Very Bad
In keeping with its second-to-last state ranking in the 2010 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which assessed people's physical and emotional health across the country, one of Kentucky's congressional districts and its major metropolitan area...
Health News
Kentucky's well-being ranks next to last, just above West Virginia
Kentucky ranks next to last in the annual Gallup-Healthways Well-Being index, just ahead of West Virginia. The Bluegrass State ranked last in the index's Healthy Behaviors category, which measures the percentage of residents who smoke, exercise frequently and eat healthy daily.
The chart on the left shows Kentucky's score in each of the six categories. The state's rankings haven't changed much since last year, with the exception of the Work Environment index, which fell from 8th to 31st. The colored chart on the right shows the state's overall and category rankings for 2011 and 2012 (1 is the highest rank and 50 is the lowest). Click here for the detailed report on Kentucky.
??
West Virginia, with an index score of 61.3, had the lowest well-being for the fourth year in a row. The report shows West Virginians were the least likely to be thriving and also had the nation's worst emotional health. They had the lowest score in the Physical Health category, which reflects having the highest percentage of obese residents in the nation.
There were few changes from 2011 to 2012 among states with the highest and lowest well-being scores. Hawaii residents had the highest well-being for the fourth straight year, followed by Colorado, Minnesota, Utah, and Vermont.
The report shows a consistent regional pattern in well-being over the past five years. Western and Midwestern states earned seven of the 10 highest overall scores, while New England states held the other three spots. Southern states had the six lowest scores, and Southern states had eight of the 10 lowest well-being scores.
The chart on the left shows Kentucky's score in each of the six categories. The state's rankings haven't changed much since last year, with the exception of the Work Environment index, which fell from 8th to 31st. The colored chart on the right shows the state's overall and category rankings for 2011 and 2012 (1 is the highest rank and 50 is the lowest). Click here for the detailed report on Kentucky.
??
 |
| Left: Kentucky Well-Being Indexes Right: Well-Being rankings of Kentucky among the states |
There were few changes from 2011 to 2012 among states with the highest and lowest well-being scores. Hawaii residents had the highest well-being for the fourth straight year, followed by Colorado, Minnesota, Utah, and Vermont.
The report shows a consistent regional pattern in well-being over the past five years. Western and Midwestern states earned seven of the 10 highest overall scores, while New England states held the other three spots. Southern states had the six lowest scores, and Southern states had eight of the 10 lowest well-being scores.
- Less Than 60% Of Kentuckians Say They Visited A Dentist In The Past Year, Ranking The State 43rd In The Nation
Kentucky ranked 43rd among the 50 states in percentage of people who told pollsters that they had visited a dentist in the past 12 months. The rankings in the annual Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index appeared to be driven largely by income and insurance....
- Kentucky Ranked Sixth In Nation For Obesity, Fourth In High Blood Pressure, Second For Diabetes
A new report shows 29.5 percent of Kentuckians are obese, sixth highest in the nation. The state ranked second in the nation for the highest percentage of diabetes, with 13.7 percent of Kentucky residents diagnosed with the disease, and fourth in...
- Kentucky Ranks Next To Last, Fifth Congressional District Dead Last In National Healthiness And Happiness Survey
(Click on images for larger versions)Kentucky was again next to last among the states in happiness and healthiness of its residents in 2011, ranking above only West Virginia, though precise rankings are uncertain. Eastern Kentucky's Fifth Congressional...
- Kentucky Ranks 36th For Tobacco Prevention Spending; Many States Have Made Cuts
Though it received $389 million in tobacco-settlement funds in fiscal year 2012, and ranks first or second in tobacco use, Kentucky spent just $2.2 million of that on prevention of tobacco use. The figures rank Kentucky 36th in the nation for helping...
- Well-being Index Gives Rankings For Kentucky's Congressional Districts And Metropolitan Areas; Some Are Very Bad
In keeping with its second-to-last state ranking in the 2010 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which assessed people's physical and emotional health across the country, one of Kentucky's congressional districts and its major metropolitan area...