NCHStats

Florida has the 3rd highest cesarean delivery rate in the U.S. (38.1% of all births). Only Louisiana and New Jersey have higher cesarean rates than Florida. The state also has the 5th highest percentage of births born to unmarried mothers (47.6%) and the 10th highest preterm birth rate (13% of all births).

In addition, a higher percentage of Floridians are without health insurance (19.7% in 2011) compared with the U.S. as a whole (15.1%) , and the state also has higher mortality rates from homicide and drug poisoning compared to the national average.

However, Florida also had the 3rd lowest mortality rate from influenza/pneumonia in 2010, as well as the 6th lowest mortality rate from stroke, and the 8th lowest mortality rate from Alzheimer’s disease — despite a large elderly population living in several areas of the state. Florida also has lower mortality compared to the rest of the nation for several other leading causes of death, including: heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, diabetes, and kidney disease.

As lifestyles become more hectic, fast-food consumption has become a growing part of the American diet.  More than one-third of U.S. adults are obese and frequest fast-food consumption has been shown to contribute to weight gain.  

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) completed a report, Caloric Intake From Fast Food Among Adults: United States, 2007-2010, that presented the percentage of calories consumed n socifrom fast food by looking at differences in sociodemographic characteristics and weight status.

Key Findings from the Report:

• During 2007-2010, adults consumed, on average, 11.3% of their total daily calories from fast food.
• The consumption of calories from fast food significantly decreased with age.
• Non-Hispanic black adults consumed a higher percentage of calories from fast food compared with non-Hispanic white and Hispanic adults.
• No difference was observed by income status in the percentage of calories consumed from fast food among all adults.  Among young adults, however, as income increased, the percentage of calories from fast food decreased.
• The percentage of total daily calories from fast food increased as weight status increased.

Delaware has the 4th highest percentage of births born to unmarried mothers (48.7%) in the nation, lower only than Mississippi, Louisiana and New Mexico and significantly higher than the total U.S. (40.8%). The state’s low birthweight rate is also higher than the U.S. as a whole (8.4% vs. 8.1%). Among the ten leading causes of death in the U.S., Delaware has mortality rates that are higher than the U.S. rate for the following causes: cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, and accidents. The state also has higher rates of homicide and drug poisoning deaths than the overall U.S. rate.

However, Delaware has the 10th lowest suicide rate in the U.S., and a lower mortality rate from Alzheimer’s Disease than the U.S. as a whole. The state also has lower rates of teen births and preterm births than the total U.S. rate.

Slate and others have raised the question why NCHS chose to release two new contraception reports on Valentine’s Day.  The answer is that NCHS always releases its data whenever they’re ready to be published, give or take a day or two depending on the timing of other publications or events.  So, releasing these two reports about contraception on Valentine’s Day may have seemed a bit awkward, but perhaps not as awkward as releasing them on the same day as the State of the Union…