105 Million in U.S. Have Diabetes or Prediabetes, CDC Says

Unfortunately, diabetes is a condition that widely affects people of all ages. A staggering 26 million Americans are currently diagnosed with the condition. However, it gets worse. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released even more disturbing news in 2011, stating that 70 million Americans have a condition called “pre-diabetes,” which is most common in children ages 12-19. A total of 105 million have either pre-diabetes or diabetes, according to stats from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pre-diabetes is when the body contains high blood sugar levels. People who are diagnosed with pre-diabetes are more likely to have a stroke, develop heart disease or progress to type 2 diabetes.

Unfortunately, most Americans suffer from type 2 diabetes, a lifestyle-driven issue where cells gradually lose their sensitivity to insulin over time. The choices that one makes when it comes to eating, drinking, and exercise are a large part of why people develop type 2 diabetes.

As waistlines continue to expand, diabetes becomes an even greater epidemic. The OECD predicts that by 2020, 75% of the American population will be obese. Weight gain is one of the biggest reasons for the development of type 2 diabetes.

Lowered Guidelines for Diagnosis

When the American Diabetes Association lowered their guidelines for the diagnosis of diabetes, more people were diagnosed. The ADA made the recommendation last year to begin using hemoglobin A1c that measures blood sugar over a period of two to three months.

Stringent testing measures have caught many patients with diabetes who would have otherwise not been counted in the statistics. According to the CDC, this change in guidelines has something to do with the rise in numbers of diabetics in America, but is certainly not the entire story.

The CDC’s National Diabetes Fact Sheet for 2011 states that almost 7 million people in America are unaware that they even have diabetes.

Other Shocking CDC Statistics

The report linked earlier in the article shows some other shocking statistics as well:

• Half of Americans over 65 have prediabetes and 275 have diabetes.
• 215,000 Americans under the age of 20 have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
• Racial and ethnic minorities continue to experience a soar in diabetes rates. The biggest increase of 16 percent has been among American Indians/Alaska Natives, followed by 12/6 percent for blacks, 12 percent of Hispanics, 8.4 percent for Asian Americans and slightly over 7% for whites.

Prevention

The first step in prevention is the adoption of a healthy lifestyle that includes plenty of physical activity, weight loss and a healthy diet. As more and more people become aware of the seriousness of this health condition, it is hoped that they will make the necessary changes to their lifestyle to stop the disease before it gets a chance to get started. Something must be done or one in three Americans could have diabetes by 2050.

In addition to eating more healthful foods and exercising regularly, you should look into using cinnamon for diabetes treatment and prevention, as well as learn of the connection between magnesium and diabetes.