CDC warns of diabetes explosion in coming decades

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that as many as one in three adults would develop diabetes by 2050, way more than one in ten today.

“It's alarming,” said Ann Albright, director of the CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation. “People have to remember that once you have diabetes, you can't give it back.”

Lifestyles to blame?
Easy lifestyles are fueling the rise of type 2 diabetes, which occurs when the body does not respond to or produce enough insulin and is unable to process the sugars in food.

Though it is partly blamed on genetics, excess weight and inactivity both increase the risk.

Diabetes may lead to several complications including heart attacks, strokes, blindness, kidney failure, and nerve damage.

“Diabetes is the seventh-leading killer in this country and it accounts for $170 billion in health care expenditures.” -- Doctor Richard Besser, medical editor for ABC News

Why is the number of diabetics growing?
According to experts, the growth in number of diabetics is also due to the improved medical facilities. With growing age, the body becomes less efficient in breaking down glucose, and thus, more prone to diabetes. So, as the American population continues to live longer, the incidence of diabetes will grow as well.

Minority groups, who are at greater risk of developing diabetes due to obesity and other health factors, are also growing, adding to the mounting population of diabetics.

Besides, improved and more effective methods of insulin delivery are helping the diabetics live longer, thus contributing to the overall growth of diabetes patients in America.

“Diabetes is the seventh-leading killer in this country and it accounts for $170 billion in health care expenditures,” said Doctor Richard Besser, medical editor for ABC News. “If you have diabetes, your health care cost will more than double those of someone who doesn't have diabetes.”

Averting the diabetes epidemic
These projections that have come from the analysis of latest Census data from 2000 included the most recent annual updates from 2007. The projections are the most comprehensive yet to estimate diabetes prevalence in years to come.

At the Diabetes Prevention Program conducted by the National Institutes of Health, experts said that lifestyle changes, like better diet and regular exercise, can cut the risk of diabetes by 58 percent.