A staggering one in eight Americans has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll suggests.
And more than one third of those polled have been diagnosed with diabetes or have a parent, sibling, spouse or child with the condition.
“Type 2 diabetes has become one of the most common and fastest growing diseases. Fully one in eight adults — approximately 29 million people — now report that they have been diagnosed with this dangerous condition,” said Harris Poll Chairman Humphrey Taylor.
Added Dr. Ronald Tamler, clinical director of the Mount Sinai Diabetes Center in New York City: “Diabetes is very insidious. You don’t know you’re in trouble until the complications hit or until it’s so out of control you have uncontrolled urination and thirst” — two of the common symptoms of diabetes.
While type 2 diabetes is occurring in epic proportions, the new poll also found that awareness of the disease is still surprisingly low, with only 21 percent of those surveyed considering themselves well-versed on the disease. That means the remaining 79 percent may not know they’re at risk or may already have the disease, which is known as the “silent” killer.
But people already diagnosed with diabetes tend to be much more aware of the health risks, with slightly more than two-thirds considering themselves either “extremely” or “very” knowledgeable about the disease, the poll found.
Still, 35 percent of respondents with diabetes said their diabetes was only “somewhat” controlled and 5 percent said it was “not at all” well controlled.
On a more encouraging note, many people polled do understand that a number of factors can contribute to type 2 diabetes, including being overweight (79 percent of respondents realize this is a risk factor), diet (74 percent) and physical inactivity (62 percent).
These numbers were greater among people who had been diagnosed with diabetes.
(HealthDay News)
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5 Responses
Is it truely a “disease.” One can argue that Type 2 diabetes is nothing more than a set of symptoms related to being overweight and having insufficent exercise (or as the goyim would say, being a fat couch potato), and then changing lifestyle by becoming thin and physically fit will “cure” the “disease.”
and eating a little healthier
The dept. of health decided to lower the blood glucose and A1C thresholds that now define being a diabetic. More than a third of high blood sugar cases that used to be called “pre-diabetes” are now classified as full fledged diabetes. And its staggering that the incidents of diabetes went up? Follow the money trail to pharma and meds to figure out why. A blood glucose monitor will run you twenty bucks, but a month supply of measuring strips costs over a hundred. Its worse than toner cartridges or keurig coffee!!!
Vegetables, fruits, fiber rich foods and exercise cost nothing, and have only good side effects (unless you are a doctor or a drug company). Giving up sweetened foods and drinks also saves you money.
Akuperma,
as usual you are running your mouth without any knowledge of what you are talking about. Type II diabetes is a disease. Once you have it, changing you lifestyle only helps to control it. At the present time there is no “cure.”