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Researchers estimate that the direct healthcare cost of obesity for the state of Alabama is $1,424 million. If current obesity levels are maintained, in 10 years Alabama could save $3,193 million off a projected $23,721 million healthcare bill. That’s $952 for every adult in the state.
 
 
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Alabama (2009)
 
America’s Health Rankings™
Ranking:
Alabama is 48th this year; it was 46th in 2008.

Strengths:
Strengths include a low prevalence of binge drinking at 11.4 percent of the population, low geographic disparity within the state at 8.6 percent and high public health funding at $97 per person. Alabama ranks higher for determinants than for health outcomes, indicating that overall healthiness may improve over time.

Challenges:
Challenges include a high prevalence of obesity at 32.2 percent of the population, high levels of air pollution at 13.5 micrograms of fine particulate per cubic meter, a high percentage of children in poverty at 23.7 percent of persons under age 18, a high premature death rate with 10,116 years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population, a high rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease at 358.8 deaths per 100,000 population and a high infant mortality rate at 9.2 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Significant Changes:
In the past year, the rate of uninsured population declined from 13.6 spanercent to 11.9 percent. In the past five years, the prevalence of smoking decreased from 25.3 percent to 22.1 percent of the population.

Health Disparities:
In Alabama, obesity is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 41.1 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 28.2 percent. The prevalence of diabetes also varies by race and ethnicity in the state; 12.9 percent of non-Hispanic blacks have diabetes compared to 9.6 percent of non-Hispanic whites. In addition, mortality rates vary considerably in Alabama, with 1,147.2 deaths per 100,000 population among blacks compared to Hispanics, who experience 313.7 deaths per 100,000 population.

State Health Department Web Site:        www.adph.org

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Overall Rank : 
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New! Supplemental Measures
America’s Health Rankings™ have been expanded to include 15 more state-specific measures of health, from Daily Vegetable and Fruit intake to Incidence of High Blood Pressure and Diabetes. GO
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Alabama - Core Measures
  2009 2008 No. 1
Behaviors Value Rank Value Rank State
High School Graduation (Percent of incoming ninth graders) 66.2 44 65.9 41 87.5
Prevalence of Obesity (Percent of population) 32.2 49 30.9 49 19.1
Prevalence of Smoking (Percent of population) 22.1 41 22.5 40 9.3
Prevalence of Binge Drinking (Percent of population) 11.4 6 11.1 6 9.0
Community & Environment          
Occupational Fatalities (Deaths per 100,000 workers) 6.2 38 7.0 37 3.1
Infectious Disease (Cases per 100,000 population) 15.9 31 17.7 34 2.4
Air Pollution (Micrograms of fine particles per cubic meter) 13.5 45 14.1 43 4.8
Children in Poverty (Percent of persons under age 18) 23.7 47 22.5 46 8.6
Violent Crime (Offenses per 100,000 population) 452 32 448 30 117
Public & Health Policies          
Lack of Health Insurance (Percent of population) 11.9 18 13.6 22 5.4
Immunization Coverage (Percent of children ages 19 to 35 months) 76.3 31 81.6 15 85.0
Public Health Funding (Dollars per person) $97 14 $93 16 $220
Clinical Care          
Prenatal Care (Percent of pregnant women) 76.0 13 76.4 17 86.1
Preventable Hospitalizations (Number per 1,000 Medicare enrollees) 89.7 43 94.8 44 29.3
Primary Care Physicians (Number per 100,000 population) 100.7 40 99.7 40 190.0
Health Outcomes          
Premature Death (Years lost per 100,000 population) 10116 48 10324 48 5595
Poor Physical Health Days (Days in the previous 30 days) 4.2 46 4.3 48 2.7
Infant Mortality (Deaths per 1,000 live births) 9.2 48 9.2 47 4.8
Poor Mental Health Days (Days in the previous 30 days) 4.1 47 4.0 48 2.2
Geographic Disparity (Relative standard deviation) 8.6 12 7.7 10 4.3
Cancer Deaths (Deaths per 100,000 population) 211.4 44 211.4 43 144.7
Cardiovascular Deaths (Deaths per 100,000 population) 358.8 49 366.2 48 212.6
 
Summation          
All Determinants -0.313 43 -0.250 40 0.827
All Outcomes -0.233 49 -0.228 49 0.348
Overall -0.546 48 -0.477 46 1.064

Alabama - Supplemental Measures
  2009 2008 No. 1
Behaviors Value Rank Value Rank State
Cholesterol Check (Percent of adult population) 77.7 18 77.7 18 84.6
Recent Dental Visit (Percent of adult population) 65.0 42 68.0 34 80.2
Daily Vegetables and Fruit (Percent of population) 20.6 39 20.6 39 30.0
Physical Activity (Percent of adult population) 70.5 44 70.2 46 81.9
Chronic Disease          
Stroke (Percent of adult population) 4.2 49 3.6 48 1.8
High Cholesterol (Percent of adult population) 39.4 41 39.4 41 32.4
High Blood Pressure (Percent of adult population) 33.1 47 33.1 47 19.7
Heart Attack (Percent of adult population) 5.8 49 4.9 38 2.9
Cardiac Heart Disease (Percent of adult population) 5.3 45 5.2 42 2.7
Diabetes (Percent of adult population) 11.2 48 10.3 46 5.9
Economic          
Per Capita Personal Income (Dollars per person) $33643 41 $32419 42 $56248
Underemployment Rate (Percent) 9.8 25 7.1 14 5.7
Annual Unemployment Rate (Percent) 5.0 23 3.5 11 3.0
Median Household Income (Dollars per household) $44476 40 $43833 44 $66176
August 2009 Unemployment Rate (Percent) 10.4 39 5.2 23 4.3
Health Outcomes          
Health Status (Percent report fair or poor health) 21.2 48 21.4 47 10.7


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