Healthy Adults Introduction

Colorado’s working-age adults are healthier than their counterparts in most other states, according to measures in this Report Card. We have the second-lowest incidence of diabetes and hypertension, and we have low rates of smoking and reported poor mental health days. Colorado's adults are more likely to exercise, and we have the lowest rate of adult obesity in the country. But we do poorly in terms of insurance coverage: one in five working-age adults lacked health insurance in 2006, and one in four has no regular health care provider.

The grade of B masks some troubling trends and disparities. Our obesity rate has doubled in less than 20 years; low-income Coloradans, and racial and ethnic minorities, lag behind on most indicators. Most ominously, Colorado’s failure to do better by our children threatens our future grades for healthy adults and our ability to maintain our reputation as a healthy and prosperous state.