Ohio among Top 10 states for diabetes

Ohio is among the Top 10 states with the highest incidence of diabetes in the country, according to the latest report from the Gallup-Healthways State of American Well-Being series.

The survey found 13.5 percent of Ohio adults have diabetes, ranking the state 43rd out of 50 states for the incidence of diabetes.

The Dayton area had a slightly lower incidence of diabetes at 13.1 percent of metro-area adults, but that still ranked Dayton near the bottom of the 190 metro areas surveyed by Gallup-Healthways at No. 134.

The overall incidence of diabetes in the U.S. adult population continues to grow at an alarming rate, jumping from 10.6 percent in 2008 to 11.5 percent this year, according to the report. The increase has resulted in about 2.2 million more Americans with diabetes since 2008.

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The spike in diabetes coincides with a rise in one of the leading risk factors for the chronic, debilitating disease — obesity. And the obesity rate in in Ohio, 31.6 percent, is significantly higher than the national rate, 28.3 percent — which is up nearly three percentage points since 2008, Gallup-Healthways reported.

In the Dayton area, the obesity rate is even higher at 32.7 percent.

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