A recent study by Forbes Health ranked Colorado as the top state with the healthiest hearts – and the lowest rates of obesity and high blood pressure.

Forbes Health collected data for all 50 states across 16 individual factors spanning two key categories – lifestyle factors and prevalence of heart conditions.

The ‘lifestyle factors’ category included elements like the number of people exercising at least once a month, the prevalence of heavy drinking, obesity rates, smoking, and more. Factors making up the ‘prevalence of heart conditions’ category of data included the rate of heart disease mortality, rate of stroke mortality, high blood pressure, percentage of residents with high cholesterol, etc.

Data also showed that Colorado is home to the highest percentage of people who exercised at least once during the month the data was collected. According to Forbes Health, exercise is a significant factor in heart health. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute states that regular, moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity can lower a person’s risk for diabetes, coronary heart disease, and cancer. Exercise also improves the heart’s ability to pump blood throughout the body.

Colorado also had the lowest obesity rate at 24.9% of adults, the lowest percentage of adults reporting less than seven hours of sleep (29.3%), and the lowest rate of individuals with high blood pressure (24.6%).

Check out Forbes Health’s full rankings here.

Photo Credit: milehightraveler (iStock).

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