6. Kentucky
Kentucky dropped one place on this year’s list to rank as the 45th healthiest state. Kentucky has the highest smoking rate in the country and the highest rate of preventable hospitalizations. Obesity there increased nine percent in the past year.
Strengths: High percentage of high school graduation; low violent crime rate; small disparity in health status by educational attainment.
Challenges: High prevalence of smoking; high rate of cancer deaths; high prevalence of frequent physical distress.
