Exploring the Interplay of Poverty, Behavioral Factors, and Obesity: Implications for Diabetes Prevalence in the United States

The prevalence of diabetes and obesity are a significant public health concern in the United States, with profound implications for millions of Americans. As of 2018, around 34.2 million individuals were diagnosed with diabetes, while an additional 88 million adults were classified as prediabetic, indicating a troubling trend exacerbated by rising obesity rates (Francis, 2021; Liu et al., 2023). Behavioral factors, including smoking, and heavy alcohol consumption are also associated with the prevalence of diabetes and obesity. This study uses geo-spatial county-level data obtained from merging the 2021 CDC PLACES dataset and the 2019 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey dataset to analyze the roles of smoking, poverty, and binge drinking on the prevalence of obesity and diabetes across the United States. The findings indicate that higher rates of poverty, smoking and alcohol consumption maybe associated with higher rates of obesity, and diversity at the county level. But, the findings of this study also suggest substantial regional variations in these associations.