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Defeat Diabetes Foundation

Defeat Diabetes
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Born in the USA, One in Three Will Develop Diabetes

Posted: Thursday, November 09, 2006

Fifty-four million Americans - that’s one in six of us -- have pre-diabetes and most don’t even realize it.

Mark Schutta, MD, medical director of the Penn Rodebaugh Diabetes Center, states that, “If you have pre-diabetes, there’s a 75% probability that you will develop diabetes within 30 years.” “Our country is in the middle of a type 2 diabetes epidemic. Right now, if you’re born in the U.S., your risk of developing diabetes is one in three.”

Schutta says the reason for the high numbers is that diabetes is a “silent killer” and in the early stages of the disease, patients often have no symptoms. Schutta urges anyone at risk for diabetes to be screened. He adds, “If you knew you had pre-diabetes, you could still prevent getting diabetes through changes in diet and exercise. There are many health benefits to knowing you have pre-diabetes and ‘heading it off.’ If you wait until you have diabetes, the vascular damage to your body may already be done.”

You should be screened for pre-diabetes if:

· You have a known family history of diabetes.
· You are African American, Latino, Native American, Asian American or Pacific Islander.
· While pregnant, you developed gestational diabetes.
· You delivered a baby who weighed more than nine pounds.
· You have high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, are overweight.

Schutta explains the best test is an oral glucose tolerance test which introduces glucose into your system, challenging your beta cells to make insulin by testing your body’s acute insulin response to glucose.”

Schutta says the numbers are clear. If your blood glucose level, two hours after receiving oral glucose, is over 200 milligrams per deciliter, you are considered to be diabetic. Anything between 141-199 is considered to be pre-diabetic.

Diabetes is a chronic disease affecting more than six percent of the U.S. population or 21 million people. Diabetes is linked to heart and kidney disease, strokes and other serious health problems. Diabetes results when the body either does not produce insulin or cannot use it properly. Insulin is a hormone that your body needs to convert sugar, starches, and other food into energy for living. Although there is no cure for diabetes, it can be controlled.

Source: Diabetes In Control: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine