Table 1.
Descriptive statistics
| Variables | United States | Diabetes Belt | Non-Diabetes Belt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (S.D.) | Mean (S.D.) | Mean (S.D.) | |
| Dependent Variable | |||
| Percent adults with diabetes | 9.1 (2.0) | 11.6 (1.3) | 8.5 (1.5) |
| Independent Variables | |||
| Economic context | |||
| Percent of pop. poor | 15.4 (6.5) | 21.2 (6.1) | 13.9 (5.7) |
| Percent of labor force unemployed | 4.1 (1.7) | 5.0 (1.6) | 3.9 (1.7) |
| Poor/non-poor segregation | 18.8 (10.8) | 17.5 (8.8) | 19.1 (11.2) |
| Persistent poverty | 0.1 (0.3) | 0.4 (0.5) | 0.1 (0.2) |
| Health and healthcare context | |||
| Percent of adults with obesity | 30.3 (4.2) | 34.2 (3.2) | 29.3 (3.9) |
| Percent of adults physically inactive | 26.9 (4.9) | 31.6 (3.6) | 25.7 (4.5) |
| Percent of pop. uninsured | 18.3 (5.6) | 20.0 (3.1) | 17.9 (6.2) |
| Number of physicians/1,000 pop. | 1.5 (1.8) | 1.2 (1.2) | 1.6 (1.9) |
| Number of outpatient visits/1,000 pop. | 2,431.2 (3,326.9) | 1,773.7 (2,152.8) | 2,602.9 (3,550.9) |
| Recreational context | |||
| Number of recreation facilities per 1,000 pop. | 0.1 (0.1) | 0.1 (0.1) | 0.1 (0.1) |
| Natural amenities (low of 1 to high of 7) | 3.5 (1.0) | 3.4 (0.6) | 3.5 (1.1) |
| Food environment | |||
| Number of grocery stores & supercenters/1,000 pop. | 0.3 (0.2) | 0.2 (0.1) | 0.3 (0.2) |
| Number of fast food restaurants/1,000 pop. | 0.6 (0.3) | 0.5 (0.3) | 0.6 (0.3) |
| Population structure | |||
| Percent of families headed by single mothers | 9.6 (3.8) | 12.6 (4.6) | 8.9 (3.2) |
| Percent of pop. aged 65 and older | 15.4 (4.2) | 14.4 (2.7) | 15.6 (4.5) |
| Percent of pop. African American | 8.9 (14.4) | 25.2 (21.1) | 4.6 (7.7) |
| Percent of pop. Hispanic | 7.6 (12.8) | 2.4 (2.6) | 8.9 (14.0) |
| Metropolitan | 0.4 (0.5) | 0.3 (0.5) | 0.4 (0.5) |
| Micropolitan | 0.2 (0.4) | 0.2 (0.4) | 0.2 (0.4) |
| Noncore | 0.4 (0.5) | 0.5 (0.5) | 0.4 (0.5) |
| Educational level | |||
| Percent of adults with less than high school | 17.7 (7.3) | 24.2 (6.0) | 15.2 (6.4) |
| High diabetes | 21% | 82% | 5% |
| Low diabetes | 24% | 0% | 31% |
| N | 3,109 | 644 | 2,465 |
Source: Obesity and physical inactivity prevalence data are from the CDC County-level Estimates of Obesity and Leisure-Time Physical Inactivity. Uninsured data are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Area Health Insurance Estimates. Physician and outpatient visits data are from the Area Resource File, via the Department of Health and Human Services. Recreation facilities, grocery stores and supercenters, and fast food restaurant data are from the USDA Economic Research Service’s Food Environment Atlas and the U.S. Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns. Metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore status data are from the USDA Economic Research Service. All other data were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2005–2009 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates.