Georgia Ranks 39th in Health According to New Report

Today the United Health Foundation released its annual America’s Health Rankings® report, showing Georgia’s ranking for overall health has improved three places to No. 42 among the 50 states. Key local findings include:

• In the past six years, obesity increased 13% from 28.0% to 31.6% of adults
• In the past five years, children in poverty decreased 23% from 27.2% to 21.0% of children aged 0 to 17
• In the past four years, occupational fatalities increased 68% from 3.1 to 5.2 deaths per 100,000 workers
• In the past three years, meningococcal immunization increased 27% from 74.9% to 95.3% of adolescents aged 13 to 17
• In the past eight years, cancer deaths increased 3% from 190.5 to 195.5 deaths per 100,000 population
• In the past four years, premature death increased 10% from 7,624 to 8,391 years lost before age 75 per 100,000 population

Key national findings include:

Obesity Prevalence Reaches All-Time High; Premature Deaths Continue to Increase

• The obesity rate exceeded 30 percent of the adult population for the first time in America’s Health Rankingshistory, up 5 percent in the past year (from 29.9 percent to 31.3 percent).

• Premature deaths increased 3 percent (from 7,214 to 7,432 years lost before age 75 per 100,000 people).

Suicide Rate Increases

• The suicide rate has increased 16 percent since 2012 (from 12.0 to 13.9 deaths per 100,000 people).
• The suicide rate is 3.5 times lower in New Jersey – the state with the lowest rate for this measure – with 7.5 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with Montana, the most at 26.0 deaths per 100,000.
• The suicide rate is much higher among males: 22.2 deaths per 100,000 compared with females at 6.2 deaths per 100,000.

Childhood Poverty Percentage Decreases; Number of Health Care Providers Increases

• Childhood poverty – a key indicator of socioeconomic status and overall health – decreased 19 percent in the past five years from 22.6 percent in 2013 to 18.4 percent in 2018, and decreased 6 percent since 2017.
• The number of mental health providers per 100,000 people increased 8 percent and the number of primary care physicians increased 5 percent nationwide in the past year.

“This year’s Annual Report spotlights an obesity problem that continues to grow. This means more people will likely develop obesity-related chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer,” said Dr. Rhonda Randall, chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare National Markets, and an adviser to America’s Health Rankings. “We encourage health professionals, public health officials and elected leaders to use these findings to explore opportunities to better support people in their communities in all aspects of their health.”