According to the Los Angeles Times Connecticut is at the top of the list of well-being in the U.S., beating out Massachusetts and New York. So says a study from the American Human Development Project. The project is part of the New York-based Social Science Research Council.
Based on official government data, the list is decided by three factors — health, education and income. It turns out the Land of Steady Habits scores well on all three. We’re third in education, fourth in earnings and fifth in education. Across the board, we score at the top.
At the bottom of the list is West Virginia. Sarah Burd-Sharps, co-director of the American Human Development Project, offers an example of the gap in well-being between ranking at the top of the list and at the bottom of it: A baby born in Connecticut today has a life expectancy of 5 years more than a baby born in West Virginia.
“That’s a huge difference, and it’s in the same country,” she says. “Connecticut has invested in people, by having conditions and giving them the circumstances to enable them to make healthy choices in life.”
Connecticut’s high score is in stark contrast to its ranking in a study published in the journal Science last year. In that study, Connecticut was listed as the second unhappiest state in the union; New York the most unhappy. Oddly, Louisiana was the happiest state according to the Science study; in the American Human Development Project study, it’s listed at 47th in well-being.
Burd-Sharps notes that the measurement of happiness and well-being are two very different things.
“There’s a huge difference in the work we’re doing that what’s done with the happiness index,” she says. “This work we’re doing has objective measures of well being. Life satisfaction, it really matters, but it sometimes yields some counterintuitive results.”
It is interesting that in this article health and well-being is considered the best in the Northeast. Dr. O’Toole has found over the many years of practicing plastic surgery in Pasadena the population appears to be happy and well-adjusted. The draw of the location combined with Dr. O’Toole’s experience and surgical expertise allows him to service patients from all over the globe. It is not uncommon for patients to fly into town when considering procedures , including facelifts, abdominoplasty, and even breast augmentation. The majority of out-of-town patients who consult with Dr. O’Toole have their surgery within a few days of their consultation and are ready to return home within a couple of weeks.
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