Source: msn.com on 10/22/2010...Article by Amanda Chan
In the United States, 1 in 3 people will have Type 2 diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The projections, released today, are alarming to U.S. health officials, who say the numbers highlight the need for interventions to keep the number of new cases from climbing.
Currently, 1 in 10 Americans has Type 2 diabetes. But if new cases develop as projected, its prevalence could double or triple over the next 40 years, said Ann Albright, director of the Division of Diabetes Translation at the CDC.
"We can't have that, it's unsustainable," Albright told MyHealthNewsDaily.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, and is triggered by a combination of unchangeable factors, such as family history and race, and controllable factors, such as obesity and inactivity, according to the Mayo Clinic.
..It's also the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, according to 2007 data, and is the leading cause of leg and foot amputations, kidney failure and new cases of blindness in adults under age 75, according to the CDC.
The costs of diabetes add up to about $174 billion a year, the CDC said.
My thoughts...tax the hell out of fast foods at restaurants and unhealthy foods found at grocery stores (like we do cigarrettes and alcohol). Use that income to subsidize healthy foods, gym memberships, and the inevitable healthcare costs that these individuals will incur.