Diabetes in America: How Florida Communities Stack Up

LAKELAND, FL — As the incident rate of diabetes continues to climb across America, Gallup-Healthways has released a study that shows which states and communities have the highest number of cases. Florida ranks in the bottom half of the country with many communities in the Sunshine State also scoring poorly.

Gallup’s "2015 State & Community Rankings for Incidence of Diabetes" was released Wednesday. The report focuses on 190 communities and all 50 states. The study is based on a subset of 176,885 telephone interviews with American adults conducted across all 50 states between Jan. 2, 2015, and Dec. 30, 2015. Community rankings are based on 246,620 interviews conducted between Jan. 2, 2014, and Dec. 30, 2015.

Aside from the state and community rankings, Gallup’s rankings shed light on the continued increase of diabetes across the country. “The overall incidence of diabetes in the U.S. adult population is growing, up from 10.6 percent in 2008 to 11.5 percent in 2016,” the study says. “The rate increase has resulted in about 2.2 million more Americans with diabetes since 2008.”

Researchers also looked at obesity rates across all 50 states and within the communities surveyed. Obesity is a key risk factor in the development of type 2 diabetes. The findings related to obesity were alarming, the report noted. The national obesity rate in America is estimated at 28.3 percent in 2016, which represents a three-point rise from 2008.

Gallup’s report also put a spotlight on medical facilities that are considered leading innovators in diabetes management. Tampa’s St. Joseph’s Hospital was one of four facilities recognized. St. Joseph’s development of an intravenous insulin dosing tool for hospitalized patients earned it the recognition.

As for those rankings, Florida came in 34th overall. The lowest incidence rates of diabetes were found in Utah, according to Gallup. Rhode Island, Colorado, Minnesota and Montana rounded out the Top 5. Alabama has the highest incident rate of diabetes in the country, the report noted.

On the community level, here’s how metropolitan statistical areas in the Florida ranked on the list of 190:

• No. 30 – Gainesville
• No. 51 – Cape Coral-Fort Myers
• No. 71. – Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach
• No. 94 – Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island
• No. 120 – Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
• No. 124 – Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford
• No. 133 – Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville
• No. 135 – Jacksonville
• No. 153 – North-Port-Sarasota-Bradenton
• No. 165 – Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin
• No. 166 – Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent
• No. 167 – Tallahassee
• No. 169 – Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach
• Nov. 177 – Port St. Lucie
• No. 179 – Lakeland-Winter Haven

Mobile, Alabama, came in at the bottom of the list of 190 communities.

To check out the full report, visit Gallup-Healthways online.

To learn more about diabetes, its symptoms and prevention, visit the American Diabetes Association online.

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