Healthy Adults Introduction
Colorado’s working-age adults are healthier than their counterparts in most other states, according to measures in this Report Card. The state has the third-lowest incidence of hypertension and the sixth-lowest percentage of adults who report poor mental health. Colorado’s adults are more likely to exercise, and Colorado has the lowest rate of adult obesity in the country. But the state does poorly in terms of insurance coverage: One in five working-age adults lacked health insurance in 2007. In addition, Colorado ranks in the bottom half of all states with respect to adults having a regular source of medical care and binge drinking, suggesting room for improvement.
The grade of B masks some troubling trends and disparities. The state’s obesity rate has doubled in fewer than 20 years, and low-income Coloradans and racial and ethnic minorities lag behind on most indicators. Most ominously, Colorado’s failure to do better by its children threatens future grades for healthy adults and Colorado’s ability to maintain its reputation as a healthy and prosperous state.
| Healthy Adults: Health Indicators and Rank Among States |
Health Indicator |
Rank
among states |
| 19.9 percent of working-age adults are not covered by private or public health insurance |
32
|
| 77.2 percent of adults have one (or more) person(s) they think of as their personal doctor or health care provider |
31 |
| 25.1 percent of adults consumed five or more fruits and/or vegetables per day within the past week |
17 |
| 82.2 percent of adults participated in any physical activity within the past month |
3 |
| 19.5 percent of adults are obese |
1 |
| 18.9 percent of adults currently smoke cigarettes |
|
| 18.1 percent of adults binge drank (males having five or more drinks on one occasion, females having four or more drinks on one occasion) in the past month |
|
| 12.2 percent of adults report that their mental health was not good eight or more days in the past month |
6 |
| 4.5 percent of adults reported that they were diagnosed with diabetes |
5 |
| 16.2 percent of adults reported that they were diagnosed with high blood pressure |
3 |
Average Rank |
14.0 |
Average Grade |
B |