Despite wellness programs and other efforts aimed at improving the health of Americans, diabetes and obesity are on the rise—and that's not good for the country. In fact, according to the latest data from the Gallup/Sharecare Well-Being Index, a 10-year comparative analysis reveals that zero—that's right, zero—U.S. states "experienced lower diabetes and obesity prevalence rates." The report has plenty of other gloomy statistics—such as the growth of the overall diabetes rate in the U.S. adult population from 10.8 percent in 2008–2009 to 11.5 percent in 2016–2017. That means that approximately 1.7 million more Americans now have diabetes diagnoses than would have been the case had the rate not changed since 2008–2009. Related: 5 effective ways employers can address diabetes costs What's worse, obesity is also on the rise; since it's a major risk factor in the development of type 2 diabetes, its increase of 2.3 points since 2008–2009, hitting 28.3 percent nationally in 2016–2017, should be setting off alarm bells throughout the population. In the two-year period spanning 2008–2009, the report says that 26.0 percent of U.S. adults were obese. But by 2016–2017, that had risen to 28.3 percent--indicating increased obesity rates in 34 states, with the rate declining in no states. Fifteen of the states with increased obesity—44 percent—also had statistically significant increases in diabetes. On the other hand, only three states out of the 16 that did not experience significant changes in obesity—just 19 percent—saw diabetes increases among their populations. Says the report, "States with a rising obesity rate are about 2.3 times more likely to also be experiencing rising diabetes prevalence than are states without a rising obesity rate." When data were analyzed state by state, the report says, Alaska, Colorado and Montana, "each considered 'well-being elite' states based on overall well-being trends," came up with the lowest prevalence of diabetes in the country for 2016–17, with less than 9 percent of their adult populations having been diagnosed with the disease. But such was definitely not the case down south, where high rates of diabetes plague residents. In fact, West Virginia came out the worst for the same time period, with seven other southern states giving it a run for its money. And that's not the whole story, with the report pointing out that "some communities and regions may have populations that are currently underdiagnosed due to healthcare access issues such as lack of health insurance, lack of having a primary care doctor, and/or inconclusive patient-physician interactions." So things could be even worse. Check out the slideshow above to see which states have the highest rate of diabetes. Individual cities have even higher rates, some substantially higher, with the worst being Fort Smith, Arkansas/Oklahoma, with a diabetes rate of 21 percent. Read more: |

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