The Southeastern U.S. has been dubbed the “diabetes belt” with 644 mostly southern counties presenting above average rates of diabetes, according to new research by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The research is based on data from a national telephone survey. There are more than 18 million diabetes sufferers nationwide, with a state pattern emerging for overall averages that matches known risk factors like obesity, sedentary lifestyle, lower education, and certain ethnicities prone to diabetes.
“We’re extremely excited about the county level,“ said statistician Lawrence Barker at the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, according to Scientific American. ”We’ve known for many years that there was a lot of diabetes in the southeast.”
Similar to the well-known “stroke belt,” the corresponding map crosses 15 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
One possible explanation is the shift away from farming in these states to less active jobs but with people “continuing to eat the same way they used to,” Barker suggested.
Barker said that living a more active lifestyle could help prevent future cases of the disease.
“Modifying people’s risky behavior should bring the diabetes numbers closer to national averages—eventually,” he said.
The research is based on data from a national telephone survey. There are more than 18 million diabetes sufferers nationwide, with a state pattern emerging for overall averages that matches known risk factors like obesity, sedentary lifestyle, lower education, and certain ethnicities prone to diabetes.
“We’re extremely excited about the county level,“ said statistician Lawrence Barker at the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, according to Scientific American. ”We’ve known for many years that there was a lot of diabetes in the southeast.”
Similar to the well-known “stroke belt,” the corresponding map crosses 15 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
One possible explanation is the shift away from farming in these states to less active jobs but with people “continuing to eat the same way they used to,” Barker suggested.
Barker said that living a more active lifestyle could help prevent future cases of the disease.
“Modifying people’s risky behavior should bring the diabetes numbers closer to national averages—eventually,” he said.
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