Are You Destined to Have Diabetes?

Reposted from Isagenix Nutritional Sciences, December 2, 2009

Unless more people lose weight, diabetes cases will double in 24 years.

Before today’s kindergartners reach their college years, the number of people with diabetes is expected to at least double and the cost of diabetes care to at least triple in the U.S.—that is if we are to believe the conservative estimates of a recent study and consequent media reports (in the NY Times and the Chicago Tribune).

As long as overweight or obese trends continue, then, according to the study, “between 2009 and 2034, the number of people with diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes will increase from 23.7 million to 44.1 million” and “diabetes-related spending is expected to increase from $113 billion to $336 billion.”

These numbers are a tragedy at our doorstep. A rise in diabetes ultimately means more suffering and more early deaths. The disease has already been recognized as one of the top 10 killers in the U.S. for more than half a century. It’s also responsible for bringing about blindness, kidney failure, birth defects and foot and leg amputations for thousands annually.

A broadened perspective paints an ever-grimmer picture of the future. It would be naïve to focus solely on diabetes when the metabolic condition characterized by elevated blood sugar has been consistently linked as a risk factor to other diseases.

Each individual, for example, who is counted among the study’s reported diabetes doubling effect will also double his or her risk of developing coronary artery disease and peripheral vascular disease. Further adding to the tally, as reported previously, a combination of obesity and diabetes leads to a four-fold increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. If the rise in diabetes cases alone is believed to be serious and costly, then it’s difficult to imagine the damage resulting from a parallel increase of these other devastating diseases.

A forecast of epidemics that lie ahead, once again, must turn our attention to the area of preventive health. The effort to avoid this situation must begin now if it is to happen at all, especially when it can be accomplished through low-cost measures that can be applied by anyone.

The US National Institutes of Health has published several good books on diabetes, in particular: Your Guide to Diabetes. If you would like a free eBook copy leave your name and email address below, then click “Go” and we will send you an internet link (URL) to read or download a copy.