See where NJ ranks on new list of healthiest states in U.S.

⚫ America's health may be 'worse than it's ever been'

⚫ NJ is performing better than most states

⚫ The homicide rate and housing cost burden are up in NJ

The health of the nation looks quite rough in a new report from the United Health Foundation.

But at least your state is performing a little better.

Based on its analysis of more than 80 measures from dozens of data sources, the foundation puts New Jersey at No. 13 in its America's Health Rankings report for 2023.

"New Jersey actually ranks No. 1 in the country as far as its climate policies," said Dr. Ravi Johar, chief medical officer for UnitedHealthcare. "And opposed to the national trend, there's low prevalence of multiple chronic conditions."

New Jersey also ranks among the top 5 states for fruit and vegetable consumption among adults, the rate of frequent mental distress, and the number of years lost to premature death.

The Garden State's premature death rate fell 10% from 2020 to 2021, according to the report.

But New Jersey has plenty of room for improvement, the report shows. On a number of measures, New Jersey ranks among the bottom 10 states, including the share of primary care providers and the rate of colorectal cancer screening.

The report also indicates a spike in the burden of housing costs and the homicide rate in New Jersey.

Nationally, the report found that eight chronic conditions — arthritis, depression, diabetes, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and chronic kidney disease — reached their highest levels since the report began tracking them.

The premature death grew 9% from 2020 to 2021, marking the highest value recorded by the report.

"America's health is probably worse than it's ever been," Johar said.

New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, and Minnesota ranked in the report as the healthiest states in the country. At the bottom were Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Alabama.

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