Washington - Federal health officials sounded a new alarm about the staggering rise of diabetes in this country.
The Centers for Disease Control said a record 24 million Americans ? 8% of the population - now have diabetes, and many more are at increased risk of the disease. In just the past two years, the number of diabetes patients in the U.S. has skyrocketed by 3 million people.
"The numbers continue to go up because we have growth in the number of people who are overweight and obese. The population is aging," says Dr. Ann Albright of the CDC.
Most of those affected do have Type-2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity, poor diet and lack of exercise. It's estimated a third of U.S. adult are obese and about 18% of children and teens are overweight. The CDC data shows diabetes is particularly widespread in the Southeast United States and in Appalachia. The elderly have the highest rates of diabetes but the CDC says there are patients off all ages. The numbers show that some 57 million Americans are also at risk of developing diabetes, which is the nation's 7th leading killer.
Health experts say this is all the more troubling because much of the disease is preventable. "We could decrease this epidemic by as much as 58 percent with either a lifestyle intervention aimed at weight loss, increase in exercise, or with medications," said Dr. David Nathan of Massachusetts General Hospital.
For those who have the disease or have just been diagnosed they can help keep their diabetes under control, but it takes a strict regimen of diet, exercise, and most times medication.
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