National Changes from 2006

Since the 2006 Edition, health in the United States has declined by 0.3 percent.  While this is a small change, it is part of a three year stagnation in health which is notable when compared to the 1.5 percent per year improvements during the 1990s. 

Table 7 shows the national changes in the last year.  There were two improvements — the high school graduation rate increased from 73.9 percent to 74.3 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years and the cardiovascular death rate declined from 326.0 to 317.5 deaths per 100,000 population.  These improvements were offset by a deterioration in several measures including an increase in the prevalence of obesity from 24.4 percent to 25.1 percent of the population, an increase in the rate of uninsured population from 15.3 percent to 15.8 percent and a slight increase in both the violent crime rate and the rate of preventable hospitalizations.

 Table 7 - National Measures of Successes and Challenges: 2006 to 2007