It's cold here, but at least we have our health

Drum roll, please........ and in 2008, the Healthiest State in the Nation is....... Minnesota!!!
I thought so, what with all the people riding their bikes, running around at least 1 of the 10,000 lakes (for exercise), and buying their vegetables at farmer's markets. They or should I say we, are pretty healthy people. Check out how your state ranks.

This ranking came from the CQ Press: An Independent Publisher, and they used 21 factors to determine the health of each state. Below are the factors.

Negative Factors
1. Births of Low Birthweight as a Percent of All Births
2. Teenage Birth Rate
3. Percent of Mothers Receiving Late or No Prenatal Care
4. Age-Adjusted Death Rate
5. Infant Mortality Rate
6. Age-Adjusted Death Rate by Malignant Neoplasms
7. Age-Adjusted Death Rate by Suicide
8. Average Annual Family Coverage Health Insurance Premium
9. Percent of Population Not Covered by Health Insurance
10. Percent of Children Not Covered by Health Insurance
11. Estimated Rate of New Cancer Cases
12. AIDS Rate
13. Sexually Transmitted Disease Rate
14. Percent of Population Lacking Access to Primary Care
15. Percent of Adults Who Are Binge Drinkers
16. Percent of Adults Who Smoke
17. Percent of Adults Obese
18. Percent of Adults Who Do Not Exercise
Positive Factors
19. Beds in Community Hospitals per 100,000 Population
20. Percent of Children Aged 19-35 Months Immunized
21. Safety Belt Usage Rate