Obesity trends: one 3rd of U.S. may have diabetes by 2050

One 3rd of all Americans will be dealing with diabetes by 2050 if the disease continues spreading at the current pace. A report released Oct. 22 by the Centers for Disease Control detailed the problem. It gave obesity trends and an older population as the primary causes for concern. As the cost of treating diabetes is expected to triple, the CDC has launched efforts reduce the number of cases.

Millions don’t know they have diabetes

Diabetes currently affects 1 in 10 Americans — about 23.6 million people, according to the CDC. A CNN article on the study reported that if obesity trends continue, diabetes cases are expected to double and possibly triple by 2050. About 6 million people have diabetes right now. Those are only the ones who don’t know they have it. The CDC explained that there are 57 million Americans with excess fat around their midsection. These people are pre-diabetic and, unless they change their lifestyle, will develop diabetes. Most of will end up with type 2 diabetes, and their bodies will lose the ability to produce insulin.

Much higher costs for diabetes treatment

Diabetes could be caused by age simply. There is nothing you are able to do about getting older though. Since obesity is the biggest factor that raises risk, any person can get more exercise and have a healthy diet. Avoiding obesity will conserve a lot of money also. According to the American Diabetes Association, Americans already spend $174 billion annually to treat diabetes. The ADA recommends that everyone, even if they’re not obese, get screened for diabetes by age 45. Check at an earlier age if you are obese. That is the recommendation.

Each and every ounce of a cure compared to a pound of prevention

There is a plan in motion for the CDC to help people make better lifestyle choices in order to reduce diabetes. Its prevention efforts target communities where healthy food is hard to find and safe places to exercise are scarce. Even so, the CDC record found that prevention efforts could reduce the number of cases but not keep them from increasing overall. The authors wrote that without preventive intervention, 3.5 million cases are expected in 2050. Prevention will only give a net reduction of 344,000 by 2050. That means there will still be 3.1 million cases.

Citations

CNN

pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/22/diabetes-numbers-expected-to-triple-by-2050/?npt=NP1

ABC News

abcnews.go.com/Health/Diabetes/cdc-predicts-dramatic-increase-diabetes/story?id=11946076

MedPage Today

medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Diabetes/22922