Report Reveals Louisiana Is One of the Least Healthy States

Louisiana is known for its great food and the motto laissez le bon temps rouler (let the good times roll), but an annual study of state-by-state health reveals that the Sportsman's Paradise is more of a dystopia -- at least when it comes to healthy living.

The 2013 America's Health Rankings report ranked Louisiana 48 (out of 50) in the organization's overall study, which looked at habits such as smoking, drinking, eating and exercising.

Louisiana's full health breakdown also highlights other health-related problems in the state. The state was ranked 48 out of 50 for Diabetes, 46 out of 50 in smoking and 50 in obesity.

In addition, Louisiana was cited as having:

High prevalences of physical inactivity, obesity, & diabetes
High percentage of children in poverty
High infant mortality rate & high prevalence of low birthweight

The study also revealed that obesity among Louisiana's adult population stands at 34.7 percent -- or more than 1.2 million people. There's also a high percentage of children living in poverty. More than 30 percent of people 18 and younger are poor -- a statistic that has stood for the past three years.

It wasn't all bad news for the Pelican State, however. Drug-related deaths dropped year-over-year (17.1 percent to 13.7 percent per 100,000), and the rate of teenagers graduating from high school increased for the fourth year in a row. Violent crimes also dropped by 12 percent.

Hawaii was ranked no. 1 on the list as the healthiest state, while Louisiana's neighbor Mississippi was ranked no. 50.

[via USA Today]