Diabetes Hits South the Hardest

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According to a CDC study released yesterday, new cases of Type 2 diabetes have nearly doubled in the last decade, from about 5 per 1,000 people in the mid-1990’s, to 9 per 1,000 in 2007. Type 2 diabetes accounts for nearly 95 percent of all diabetes cases in the US, and is often linked to America’s obesity epidemic.

The report was the first to analyze data by state, and found that the highest number of new diabetes patients are in the South. And it’s no wonder. The South has the highest rates of poverty and physical inactivity, two major risk factors for obesity.

—Nikki Gloudeman