How do the states fare when it comes to health, economic well-being, female representation, access to affordable childcare, reproductive rights and education? Read on for the results of iVillage's investigation (7 Photos)
Cynthia Ramnarace on Mar 30, 2012 at 2:10PM
chime in now
Our Criteria: Are there parts of the country where women take better care of themselves than others? To answer this question, iVillage looked at health insurance coverage, healthy weight, exercise frequency, fruit and vegetable intake, fertility rate and mammogram and Pap smear rates.
Top 5 States: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Minnesota and New Hampshire were the top five healthiest states. We weren’t surprised to find that states with the best health insurance coverage had the highest rates of breast and cervical cancer screenings. Massachusetts, for example, has the highest percentage of women with health insurance in the country and also the best Pap smear and mammogram rates.
Bottom 5 States: Oklahoma was the least healthy state, followed by Arkansas, Mississippi, West Virginia and Kentucky. Oklahoma was the worst when it came to fruit and veggie consumption -- only 17 percent of women get their five servings a day. also It also scored in the bottom five on every other parameter other than fertility rate, where it ranked seventh in the country.
Want to know how your state fared? See our complete 50 Best to Worst States for Women ranking!
