Hawaii is no longer the nation's 'healthiest state'

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Massachusetts has dethroned Hawaii as the nation's "healthiest state."

The islands have topped the annual America's Health Rankings for the last five years, but Massachusetts bested the islands in 2017.

In the report released Tuesday, Vermont took the no. 3 spot, followed by Utah and Connecticutt.

The least healthy state: Mississippi. Louisiana was next to last, and Arkansas was just a smidge better.

The state-by-state ranking is aimed at highlighting positive and negative health trends.

Hawaii's strengths, according to the report, are a low uninsured population, a low prevalnce of obesity and a low rate of preventable hospitalization.

But there are some areas of concern, too.

Hawaii has a high prevalence of excessive drinking (38 percent of adults said they drank excessively) and a high incidence of salmonella (there were 20 cases per 100,000 people).

Other Hawaii highlights from the report:

• In the past seven years, premature death decreased 6 percent.
• In the past three years, cardiovascular deaths increased 6 percent.
• In the past five years, the percentage uninsured decreased 51 percent.
• In the past three years, violent crime increased 29 percent from 239 to 309 offenses per 100,000 people.

Copyright 2017 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.