The Strength of the Association Between Obesity and Mortality from Diabetes Among Adults in Florida

Authors

• Diego A. Garcia, University of Central FloridaFollow
• Jacob Bleasdale PHD,MS,CHES, University of Central FloridaFollow
• Cristobal Cintron MSc, DrPH, University of Central FloridaFollow

Streaming Media

Files

Course Code

HSC

Course Number

4501

Faculty/Instructor

Dr. Jacob Bleasdale

Faculty/Instructor Email

jacob.bleasdale@ucf.edu

About the Author

The video can be accessed at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Uoovu7Owcpu202y-LbOjkza-fhWzN-Av/view?usp=sharing

There is a transcript available for download below.

Abstract, Summary, or Creative Statement

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of preventable death across the United States, with obesity being directly tied to this condition as one of its most significant and modifiable risk factors. Although national-level evidence strongly supports this association, Florida-specific population data is still limited.

Methods: County-level adult obesity prevalence and age-adjusted diabetes mortality data were obtained directly from the Florida Health CHARTS website (FL DOH,2024) for all Florida counties. The Pearson correlation (r) was used to evaluate the strength of association between the variables

Results: A statistically significant, moderate-positive correlation was found between adult obesity rates and diabetes mortality rates across Florida counties (r=0.610,p< 0.05), meaning that of all the factors that could explain the variation between diabetes mortality rates from county to county across all of Florida, obesity prevalence accounted for 37% of that variation. . Two of three analytical studies further supported this association.

Conclusion: Obesity is significantly associated with diabetes mortality at the population level in Florida. Given the limited access to Florida-specific data, these findings provide the groundwork for future longitudinal research and public health intervention aimed at reducing diabetes mortality across the state.

Keywords

obesity, diabetes mortality, Florida, ecological study, Pearson correlation, BMI, public health, chronic disease, county-level data, modifiable risk factor

Recommended Citation

Garcia, Diego A.; Bleasdale, Jacob PHD,MS,CHES; and Cintron, Cristobal MSc, DrPH, "The Strength of the Association Between Obesity and Mortality from Diabetes Among Adults in Florida" (2026). High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026. 35.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hip-2026spring/35