November is National Diabetes Month, which raises awareness of the disease as well as its consequences, management, and prevention. Diabetes affects 29 million Americans, with 21 million people diagnosed and 8 million undiagnosed. An estimated 86 million American adults who are 20 years or older have prediabetes, which puts them at high risk for developing the disease.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for energy. The pancreas makes a hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our body. When someone has diabetes, their body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use its own insulin as well as it should, causing sugar to build up in the blood.
Type 1 diabetes, which used to be called juvenile-onset diabetes, might account for about 5 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. The causes of type 1 diabetes are unknown, but autoimmune, genetic, and environmental factors are involved.
Type 2 diabetes, which was previously called adult-onset diabetes, might account for about 90 – 95 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include:
- Older age
- Obesity
- Family history of diabetes
- History of gestational diabetes
- Impaired glucose tolerance
- Physical inactivity
- Race/ethnicity
African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, and some Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are at particularly high risk for type 2 diabetes.
Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that only affects pregnant women. Gestational diabetes develops in 2 – 10 percent of all pregnancies but usually disappears when the pregnancy is over.
Prediabetes is an elevated blood glucose level that is not quite high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes, but is higher than normal. One in three American adults has prediabetes, and most are not aware that they have it. Prediabetes is a serious health condition that increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Symptoms of diabetes might include the following (although some people may have none of these):
- Frequent urination
- Excessive thirst
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme hunger
- Sudden vision changes
- Tingling in the hands or feet
- Fatigue
- Very dry skin
- Sores that are slow to heal
Diabetes can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, and kidney failure. More than half of all amputations in adults occur in people with diabetes. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S.
What can you do to prevent diabetes? Weight management and physical activity can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program is an evidence-based lifestyle change program for preventing type 2 diabetes. The program encourages collaboration among federal agencies, community-based organizations, employers, insurers, and health care professionals to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes among people with prediabetes.
The National Diabetes Prevention Program teaches participants strategies for incorporating physical activity into daily life and choosing healthier foods. Lifestyle coaches work with participants in a group setting to identify triggers that can sabotage their achievement, and the group process encourages participants to share strategies for success. The program has been shown to help people cut their risk of developing type 2 diabetes in half. Research shows that making even modest behavior changes can help participants lose five to seven percent of their body weight – that is 10 to 14 pounds for a 200-pound person.
For more information about the National Diabetes Prevention Program, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.