‘Diabetes Belt’ runs through much of Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta

(Great Health Divide) - In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created a map highlighting the Diabetes Belt. The most recently available data shows the problem still exists in the same areas.

In 358 of the 662 counties in the Appalachian and Delta regions, adults had higher-than-average diabetes rates. In the U.S., an average of 13% of adults have diabetes.

In Alabama, 76% of the counties in those regions have higher than average rates. In Arkansas and Mississippi, around 70% of the Delta counties have a higher rate.

Great Health Divide is an initiative addressing health disparities in the Mississippi Delta and Appalachia funded in part by the Google News Initiative.