A ranking of the health of the 50 states finds New York now in the 26th spot, up from 29th last year.

The report comes from the “United Health Foundation,”:http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org “the American Public Health Association”:http://www.apha.org and “Partnership for Prevention.”:http://www.prevent.org

What’s interesting are the figures behind the ranking.

New York’s strengths include ready access to primary care, a low rate of cancer deaths and a low prevalence of obesity. Its weaknesses: a high incidence of infectious disease, a low high school graduation rate, and limited access to adequate prenatal care.

Nationwide, our overall health declined, according to the report, now in the 18th edition and called “America’s Health Rankings: A Call to Action for People & Their Communities.”

Though there have been gains in the rates of deaths from cancer and cardiovascular disease, the improvements have been overshadowed by increasing obesity and the persistence of risky behaviors such as tobacco use. Plus there are increasing numbers of people without insurance and children living in poverty.

The healthiest states? Vermont, Minnesota, Hawaii, New Hampshire and Connecticut.

The least healthy? Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

You can find the full report “here”:http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/ahr.html