SALT LAKE CITY — Sure, the recent inversion that provided a smooth blanket of yuck over the valleys may say otherwise, but when it comes to overall health, Utah is the top state in the entire country.
The newest SmartAsset rankings of the healthiest states rank Utah No. 1, thanks to having, among other highlights, the lowest smoking rate, adults who engage in some exercise, and, yes... the cleanest outdoor air.
SmartAsset ranked the states based on 10 health metrics, including obesity, physical activity levels, smoking, drinking, air pollution, sleep sufficiency, diabetes prevalence, and drug overdose deaths:
- Physically unhealthy days: 13.08% (24th overall)
- Mentally unhealthy days: 17.29% (3rd)
- Adults who smoke: 6.9% (50th)
- Adult obesity rate: 31.8% (36th)
- Percent of adults getting exercise: 82.9% (T-2nd)
- Percent of adults who drink heavily: 13.7% (50th)
- Air pollution density metric: 5.9 (39th)
- Diabetes rate in adults: 8.9% (38th)
- Drug overdose deaths per 100,000 people: 19.17 (42nd)
- Percent of adults getting at least 7 hours sleep: 65.7% (18th)
Utah's next-door neighbor to the east, Colorado, was ranked the second-healthiest state, followed by Hawaii, South Dakota and Vermont.
Coming in last among the healthiest states in the U.S. was West Virginia, which ranked worst in five out of the ten categories.
