DIABETIC & OBE

Obesity is one of the biggest health concerns in communities across the country, with about 70 percent of county officials ranking it as a leading problem where they live. Factors related to obesity are also rated as communities' priority health issues, including nutrition and physical activity at 58 percent, heart disease and hypertension at 57 percent and diabetes at 44 percent.1

There has been progress to address the epidemic. After decades of increasing, the national obesity rate among 2- to 19-year-olds has begun to level off and the rise of obesity among adults has slowed over time. Yet obesity remains a bigger threat to our health and country now than it was a generation ago. If trends continue, children today could be the first generation to live shorter, less healthy lives than their parents.

Obesity rates vary state-to-state, but remain high nationwide. Across the United States, more than one in three adults and one in six children (ages 2-19) are obese — and one in 11 young children (ages 2-5) are obese.2 Adult obesity rates range from a high of 37.7 in Louisiana to a low of 22.3 in Colorado.3 Childhood rates are highest in Mississippi (21.7 percent) and lowest in Oregon (9.9 percent).4Obesity rates also differ from county to county, and neighborhood to neighborhood. More than 20 states have counties with adult obesity rates above 40 percent, including 29 counties in Mississippi and 14 counties in Alabama. Only two states have counties with adult obesity rates below 20 percent: 17 counties in Colorado and one in Massachusetts.

Individuals who are obese are at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some forms of cancer, dementia and a number of other health concerns. Children who are overweight or obese are at greater risk for high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. And the longer children are overweight or obese, the more likely they are to remain so into adulthood. At a broader level, high obesity rates also have a significant impact on the larger community.

 Americans (registered voters) rated obesity as the top health concern in the country in a recent public opinion survey conducted by the Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research and Bellweather Research groups. And nearly three-quarters (73 percent) support increasing investments to improve the health of communities, including addressing the obesity crisis and other major health concerns. Support spans across party lines (57 percent of Republicans, 87 percent of Democrats and 70 percent of Independents) and regionally across the country (75 percent in the Northeast, 71 percent in the Midwest, 72 percent in the South and 75 percent in the West).22

Also diabetes is anothr biggest health issue in US.

· Prevalence: In 2015, 30.3 million Americans, or 9.4% of the population, had diabetes.

. Approximately 1.25 million American children and adults have type 1 diabetes.

· Undiagnosed: Of the 30.3 million adults with diabetes, 23.1 million were diagnosed, and 7.2 million were undiagnosed.

· Prevalence in Seniors: The percentage of Americans age 65 and older remains high, at 25.2%, or 12.0 million seniors (diagnosed and undiagnosed).

· New Cases: 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every year.

· Prediabetes: In 2015, 84.1 million Americans age 18 and older had prediabetes.

· Deaths: Diabetes remains the 7th leading cause of death in the United States in 2015, with 79,535 death certificates listing it as the underlying cause of death, and a total of 252,806 death certificates listing diabetes as an underlying or contributing cause of death.

· About 193,000 Americans under age 20 are estimated to have diagnosed diabetes, approximately 0.24% of that population.

· In 2011—2012, the annual incidence of diagnosed diabetes in youth was estimated at 17,900 with type 1 diabetes, 5,300 with type 2 diabetes.