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Researchers estimate that the direct healthcare cost of obesity for the state of Tennessee is $1,565 million. If current obesity levels are maintained, in 10 years Tennessee could save $4,156 million off a projected $30,993 million healthcare bill. That’s $846 for every adult in the state.
 
 
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Tennessee (2009)
 
America’s Health Rankings™
Ranking:
Tennessee is 44th this year; it was 48th in 2008.

Strengths:
Strengths include a low prevalence of binge drinking at 9.8 percent of the population, high immunization coverage with 83.1 percent of children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete immunizations, low geographic disparity within the state at 9.5 percent, moderate public health funding at $83 per person and ready availability of primary care physicians with 122.0 primary care physicians per 100,000 population.

Challenges:
Challenges include a high prevalence of smoking at 23.1 percent of the population, a high prevalence of obesity at 31.2 percent of the population, a high rate of preventable hospitalizations with 91.9 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees, a high violent crime rate at 722 offenses per 100,000 population and a high infant mortality rate at 8.8 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Significant Changes:
In the past year, the rate of preventable hospitalizations decreased from 97.8 to 91.9 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees. In the past five years, the rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease decreased from 384.1 to 338.1 deaths per 100,000 population. In the past ten years, the prevalence of obesity increased from 19.2 percent to 31.2 percent of the population. Since 1990, the prevalence of smoking decreased from 30.8 percent to 23.1 percent of the population.

Health Disparities:
In Tennessee, obesity is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 40.3 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 28.2 percent. The prevalence of diabetes also varies by race and ethnicity in the state; 12.7 percent of non-Hispanic blacks have diabetes compared to 11.0 percent of non-Hispanic whites. In addition, mortality rates vary in Tennessee, with 1,139.6 deaths per 100,000 population among blacks compared to whites, who experience 918.9 deaths per 100,000 population.

State Health Department Web Site:         www.state.tn.us/health

Download this state summary as a PDF file
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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Tennessee - Core Measures
  2009 2008 No. 1
Behaviors Value Rank Value Rank State
High School Graduation (Percent of incoming ninth graders) 70.6 38 68.5 40 87.5
Prevalence of Obesity (Percent of population) 31.2 47 30.7 47 19.1
Prevalence of Smoking (Percent of population) 23.1 45 24.3 46 9.3
Prevalence of Binge Drinking (Percent of population) 9.8 3 8.9 2 9.0
Community & Environment          
Occupational Fatalities (Deaths per 100,000 workers) 5.8 31 6.1 26 3.1
Infectious Disease (Cases per 100,000 population) 18.7 39 20.7 40 2.4
Air Pollution (Micrograms of fine particles per cubic meter) 13.0 40 13.6 40 4.8
Children in Poverty (Percent of persons under age 18) 21.6 40 20.2 39 8.6
Violent Crime (Offenses per 100,000 population) 722 48 753 49 117
Public & Health Policies          
Lack of Health Insurance (Percent of population) 14.7 30 14.0 27 5.4
Immunization Coverage (Percent of children ages 19 to 35 months) 83.1 4 80.5 22 85.0
Public Health Funding (Dollars per person) $83 19 $81 19 $220
Clinical Care          
Prenatal Care (Percent of pregnant women) 64.0 36 59.7 45 86.1
Preventable Hospitalizations (Number per 1,000 Medicare enrollees) 91.9 46 97.8 46 29.3
Primary Care Physicians (Number per 100,000 population) 122.0 18 121.6 17 190.0
Health Outcomes          
Premature Death (Years lost per 100,000 population) 9487 45 9704 46 5595
Poor Physical Health Days (Days in the previous 30 days) 4.4 48 4.1 45 2.7
Infant Mortality (Deaths per 1,000 live births) 8.8 46 9.5 48 4.8
Poor Mental Health Days (Days in the previous 30 days) 3.6 35 3.3 26 2.2
Geographic Disparity (Relative standard deviation) 9.5 16 9.4 16 4.3
Cancer Deaths (Deaths per 100,000 population) 215.0 46 216.0 47 144.7
Cardiovascular Deaths (Deaths per 100,000 population) 338.1 45 353.8 47 212.6
 
Summation          
All Determinants -0.300 42 -0.378 48 0.827
All Outcomes -0.180 45 -0.180 47 0.348
Overall -0.480 44 -0.558 48 1.064

Tennessee - Supplemental Measures
  2009 2008 No. 1
Behaviors Value Rank Value Rank State
Cholesterol Check (Percent of adult population) 79.6 10 79.6 10 84.6
Recent Dental Visit (Percent of adult population) 66.8 38 64.8 42 80.2
Daily Vegetables and Fruit (Percent of population) 26.4 13 26.4 13 30.0
Physical Activity (Percent of adult population) 71.0 43 68.5 49 81.9
Chronic Disease          
Stroke (Percent of adult population) 3.3 42 3.6 48 1.8
High Cholesterol (Percent of adult population) 34.2 6 34.2 6 32.4
High Blood Pressure (Percent of adult population) 33.8 50 33.8 50 19.7
Heart Attack (Percent of adult population) 5.4 44 5.5 47 2.9
Cardiac Heart Disease (Percent of adult population) 5.7 46 5.0 40 2.7
Diabetes (Percent of adult population) 10.3 46 11.9 50 5.9
Economic          
Per Capita Personal Income (Dollars per person) $34330 37 $33395 38 $56248
Underemployment Rate (Percent) 11.4 41 8.0 28 5.7
Annual Unemployment Rate (Percent) 6.4 39 4.8 38 3.0
Median Household Income (Dollars per household) $39702 46 $42777 47 $66176
August 2009 Unemployment Rate (Percent) 10.8 41 6.6 39 4.3
Health Outcomes          
Health Status (Percent report fair or poor health) 20.5 47 20.5 46 10.7


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