Health continues to be an important issue for the United States, as recent studies have shown that more and more Americans are developing life-long diseases due to their lack of exercise, unhealthy diet, lack of health insurance and the list of reasons could go on.

The most recent study dealing with Americans’ health was released Wednesday by the United Health Foundation, a nonprofit organization funded by one of country’s largest insurance companies UnitedHealth Group. The organization was helped by the American Public Health Association and the Partnership for Prevention.

“America’s Health Rankings 2008,” as the study was called, graded US states considering a series of factors such as obesity, infectious disease rates, air pollution, health insurance coverage, premature deaths and violent crime.

The study showed Vermont was the healthiest state for the second year in row. The prevalence of smoking declined to 17.6 percent of the population, there is a slower rise in obesity than the US national average, and the number of people without health insurance remains low, the report found. Also, Vermont has a low percentage of children in poverty, ready access to primary care for residents, a high rate of high school graduation and high immunization coverage. Vermont is followed by Hawaii, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Utah.

While Vermont’s residents seem to have understood what’s best for them, residents in Louisiana prove to be the least healthy, according to the study. Louisiana confronts itself with a high rate of obesity, poverty, infant mortality, premature death and cancer deaths. Many people lack insurance, which makes them more vulnerable to disease, the report showed. Slightly better than Louisiana are Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.