2. Louisiana
Louisiana has the highest obesity rate (36.2 percent) in the country. It ranks 50th for senior health and 48th for the health of women and children. In the past four years, public health funding in the Pelican State fell 28 percent.
Strengths: Low incidence of pertussis; high meningococcal immunization coverage among adolescents; small disparity in health status by educational attainment.
Challenges: High prevalence of obesity; high prevalence of low birth weight; high infant mortality rate.
