Diabetes Increased in 2007 by 3 Million

We face a health crisis that we have failed to curtail, nor even stop the increases.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported tuesday that 3 million more Americans had diabetes in 2007, than in the prior year.

The increases in obesity, diabetes, and the 757 million cases of pre-diabetes occurred in both men and women (in all age groups), but disproportionately affects the elderly. Almost 25 percent of people aged 60 and older had diabetes in 2007, the CDC said.

Ethnic Americans are not faring any better: Native Americans and Alaska Natives, 16.5 percent; blacks, 11.8 percent; Hispanics, 10.4 percent; Asian Americans, 7.5 percent; and whites, 6.6 percent.

We must reassess what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. This increase, for example, occurred even though the CDC found that more people were aware of their diabetes. It is not that they have pre-diabetes and aren’t aware, but that they have diabetes and cannot make inroads toward normalized health.