Post by jpg on Jan 14, 2014 12:13:02 GMT -5
From the Guardian today:
One-third of Mississippi population will have diabetes by 2030, doctor warns
Sarah Boseley, Health editor
theguardian.com, Tuesday 14 January 2014 15.01 GMT
• Obesity rate in southern state dire at more than 34%
• One in five Mississippi residents are without health insurance
• Warning that healthcare costs could cripple state's economy
A third of the population of Mississippi will have diabetes by 2030 and need costly care to stay alive, which will have a devastating impact both on them and the state's economy, according to a leading physician.
Dr Richard deShazo at the University of Mississippi medical centre in Jackson, is one of a group of physicians and academics who are trying to warn families about the dangers and consequences of obesity and teach them how to prevent their children gaining weight and damaging their health. Mississippi has long been the state with the highest obesity rate in the United States, dropping only slightly in the latest government survey to second place to Louisiana where 34.7% of the population is now obese, compared with 34.6% in Mississippi. Thirteen states, mostly in the south, have obesity rates of more than 30%.
Continued at: www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/14/mississippi-population-diabetes-2030-obesity
