Kick Butt Tip of the Day for August 24 – Are You Passionate

From Deepak Chopra, promoter of alternative medicine along with being a best-selling author. “Always go with your passions. Never ask yourself if it’s realistic or not."

- Don Chase's Kick Butt Tip of the Day is a daily motivational feature designed to give you the inspiration you need to power through your day. Check out all the Kick Butt Tips here.

It's not a surprise that many states down here in the South aren't always the healthiest in the country, but what about North Carolina?

Turns out, the folks here in the Tar Heel state fair better than pretty much every other Southern state in terms of health, and generally it's not even close.

NiceRX, who provides access to prescription drugs, released a survey of the Healthiest and Unhealthiest states, and aside from Florida, North Carolina ranks as the healthiest state in the South. And you could argue that Florida is kind of an exception to the Southern states. But that's semantics.

"Looking after your own health is one of the best investments you can make for your future," NiceRX said. "From getting regular exercise to cutting down your alcohol intake, there are plenty of decisions you can make to improve your health."

Factors taken into consideration include the percentage of residents who fall into the obese category, the number of smokers, those that binge drink alcohol and residents who use fitness classes.

The catch for North Carolina, is that while (aside from Florida) we are the healthiest state in the South, we're still only at 20th overall. That's still pretty darn good, considering that's better than over half the country, but maybe there's a lot more to do.

So let's take a look at the Healthiest and Unhealthiest states, including where North Carolina falls in the list below.