Oddly enough the article fails to actually rank states based on the life expectancy they list! It claims the top 5 states are Hawaii, Minnesota, Vermont, Washington & New Hampshire which supports their claim that active outdoor living may be the key.
Elsewhere it was reported that the top 5 states as Hawaii, Washington, Minnesota, California and Massachusetts and that article claims that except for Hawaii, all the other 4 states have some of the best medical care in the USA. Hawaii has a culture of surfing and is the only Asian/Pacific Island majority state, so it could be either genetics + food (Japan is the country with the highest life expectancy) or getting regular exercise, in spite of only average medical care.
Interestingly, if you look at the actual life expectancies listed, the top 6 are in fact Hawaii, Washington, Minnesota with California, Massachusetts and New Hampshire tied in 4th place. I guess people like to make data fit their preconceptions.
Interesting that Colorado was not in the top five. It seems I read a list for least rates of obesity, lowest average weight, and Colorado was tops by far. I would think that would extend towards lifespan. Maybe it hasn’t caught up