New Hampshirites may endure cold winters, but they are also lucky to reside in the healthiest and most "livable" state in the nation, according to Morgan Quinto Press. The publishing company, which puts an annual book comparing state in various health care categories, placed the Granite State ahead of two perennial winners: Minnesota in livability and Vermont in health.
"Across the board it does quite well just in basic quality of life factors," said Kathleen O'Leary, the editor of "Health Care State Rankings 2004," the book on which the health rankings were based.
The rankings for most livable state are based on 44 factors such as crime rate, per capita personal income and education. Many of the factors for livability were also included in the healthiest state award, which looked at 21 factors including the rate of safety belt use, state spending on health care per capita and the number of days last year when physical health was "not good."
States were given a good ranking for each factor in which they exceeded the national average. The factors were picked based on basic values that people could not disagree with, O'Leary said.
With the lowest crime rate and the lowest tax burden in the nation as well as the lowest poverty rate, New Hampshire consistently does well in the Morgan Quinto rankings. Having the lowest teen birth rate, a low sexually transmitted disease rate and a low percentage of obesity in adults also helps.
The one area where New Hampshire predictably fared poorly was climate. New Hampshire was ranked 40th on the normal daily mean temperature.
An important factor contributing to overall good health in New Hampshire could be the lack of pollution, said Bill Roebuck, a pharmacology and toxicology professor at Dartmouth Medical School. New Hampshire lacks any big cities or major industries that would cause pollution, so the only pollution comes from the west wind carrying contaminants from the power plants.
Dartmouth students, however, spend a good part of the year outside New Hampshire and, therefore, are not included in the public health statistics.
"Almost any population of 18 to 24-year-olds is going to be healthy," Dick's House Director John Turco said. "When you look at state data, that is not directly reflecting college students."
But, students do benefit from the exposure to the New Hampshire outdoors, Turco said. A high number of students are focused on working out and staying in shape, he said.
According to Turco, the main threats to the health of Dartmouth students are alcohol abuse and lack of sleep.
"Stress and anxiety is clearly a big issue at Dartmouth," Turco said.
But in the end, the focus students have on fitness will benefit them with a lower risk of obesity and the issues that come with that, Turco said.
The rankings were based on "Health Care State Rankings 2004," an annual reference book that compares the states on over 500 health care categories.
