By the year 2025, researchers predict that 53.1 million individuals in the United States will have diabetes (mainly type 2 diabetes) – a 64% increase from 2010. The study is published in Population Health Management

Diabetes is a life long disease in which there are high levels of glucose in the blood. In type 1 diabetes the body does not produce insulin and in type 2 diabetes the body either produces insufficient amounts of insulin or ignores it.

William Rowley, M.D., and Clement Bezold, Ph.D., Institute for Alternative Futures (Alexandria, VA) projected the dramatic increase using their Diabetes 2025 Model. In addition, the model enables the researchers to estimate the potential benefits of society-wide changes in lifestyle and healthcare delivery systems to reduce the burden of diabetes.

Obesity-waist circumference
Over the last thirty years, obesity rates in the USA have grown steady, as have rates of diabetes, mainly type 2

Journal Editor-in-Chief David B. Nash, M.D., MBA, Dean, Jefferson School of Population Health, Philadelphia, PA, said:

“Diabetes is now a national security issue as it threatens all aspects
of our nation’s well-being.”

Diabetes Type 2 is mainly a result of becoming overweight/obese and long-term physical inactivity, while Diabetes Type 1 is the result of an autoimmune condition in which the body’s immune system destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas; mistaking them for pathogens (harmful substances or organisms). Diabetes type 2 is a preventable chronic-disease, while diabetes type 1 is not. Diabetes type 1 has nothing to do with lifestyle.

In an Abstract in the same journal, the authors concluded:

“This research is important because little data exist that project the future prevalence and potential costs of diabetes at the state and metro area level. With this data, key stakeholders can make informed decisions concerning diabetes, its impact on their communities, and resource allocation.”

Written By Grace Rattue