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Weighing in on the fattest states in the U.S.: Survey

To mark U.S. National Diabetes Awareness Month (November 2019) and the high levels of money spent on obesity-linked health costs (which amounts to $200 billion per year across the U.S.), personal-finance website WalletHub has issued a series of finding relating to the ‘Fattest States in America’.

Within this spend, the estimated cost of diabetes in the U.S. in 2017 was calculated to be $327 billion, with $9,601 being the typical annual diabetes-related health care costs for a patient.

The survey draws upon a series of metrics, centred on understanding the U.S.’s particular issues with overweight and obesity problems. The metrics include the proportion of the population who are classed as overweight and obese within each state; the levels of sugary-beverage consumption; and the level of spending on obesity-related healthcare. Also assessed is the share of physically inactive adults in each state.

The following video provides more detail on the analytics:

This analysis identifies the top ten states with the greatest number of issues as:

1. Mississippi
2. West Virginia
3. Kentucky
4. Tennessee
5. Alabama
6. Oklahoma
7. Louisiana
8. Arkansas
9. Delaware
10. Ohio

Bubbling under are: Michigan, Maine, South Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia and Rhode Island.

Across the U.S. as a whole, almost 40 percent of the population aged 15 and older is classified as obese.

Commenting on the findings, academic Katy Soper says that avoiding fad diets is important as these do not lead to weight loss in the long-term. She notes: “Fad diets can be a “quick fix with fast results”; however, those results can be hard to maintain if there is food group restriction or required food products resulting in “boredom” from eating the same foods over a long period.”

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Written By

Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

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