Smoking Rates Decreased 5% in the Last Year

United Health Foundation recently released their America's Health Rankings Annual Report. Here are some key findings from the research:

·         Smoking rates decreased 5% in the last year, from 19.0 to 18.1% of adults.

·         Rates of sedentary behavior declined 11% from 25.3% to 22.6% of adults.

·         Preventable hospitalizations declined 8%, from 62.9 to 57.6 discharges per 1,000 Medicare beneficiaries.

·         Drug deaths jumped 4% over the last year, from 13.0 to 13.5 deaths per 100,000 people.

·         29.6% of the population is obese, a 2.5-fold increase since 1990.

·         Self-reported diabetes affects 10% of the population on average.

Source: United Health Foundation, December 10, 2015