Louisiana ranks 50th in the nation for healthy diets. See national data.

Over the past several decades, the health of the average American has steadily declined, marked by rising rates of obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions.

A cultural shift toward healthier lifestyles is gaining momentum. However, diet and the associated health outcomes vary significantly by region, reflecting broader cultural, economic, and demographic differences across the country.

Louisiana ranks 50th in the nation for healthy diets.

To determine the states with the healthiest diets, researchers at Trace One, a company specializing in software for the food and beverage industry, created a “healthy diet index” score based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• Daily fruit consumption (higher is better)
• Daily vegetable consumption (higher is better)
• Number of adults who either don’t drink alcohol or drink moderately (higher is better)
• Number of adults who drink sugar-sweetened beverages daily (lower is better)
• Food insecurity rates(lower is better)
• Overweight or obesity rates (lower is better)
• Number of adults with a history of diabetes (lower is better)
• Prevalence of adults with high cholesterol (lower is better)
• Prevalence of adults with high blood pressure (lower is better)
• Number of adults with a history of coronary heart disease or heart attack (lower is better)

Utah ranks as having the healthiest diet with a 84.2 health diet index score followed by Colorado (81.4), Washington (78.8), Minnesota (76) and Vermont (75). 

South Carolina ranks 46th in the nation with a health diet index score of 24 followed by Alabama (21.6), Mississippi (17.2) and Arkansas (17.0). 

Louisiana has the least healthy diet with a health diet index score of 8.4. Louisiana is the only state to score below 10.