According to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 30% of adults in the United States, or more than 100 million people, have diabetes or prediabetes.
As many as 30% of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes. According to the most recent data, West Virginia has the highest adult diabetes rate, at 15.7 percent.
Diabetes is a long-term health condition that affects how your body converts food into energy. When you have diabetes, your body does not properly process food for use as energy. The majority of the food you eat is converted into glucose, which your body uses for energy.
The pancreas, a long, flat gland located behind the stomach in the upper abdomen, produces insulin, a hormone that helps glucose enter the cells of your body.
Diabetes is classified into three types: type 1, type 2, and gestational. Diabetes type 2 accounts for 90 to 95 percent of all cases.
Diabetes is a major risk factor for a variety of serious chronic diseases. Diabetes is also one of the leading causes of adult blindness, nontraumatic lower-limb amputations, and kidney failure.
You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you are 45 years old or older, are overweight or obese, or have a family history of diabetes.
Diabetes is also more common in African Americans, American Indians, Hispanic/Latinos, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders.
In three out of five states, at least 10% of residents had diabetes in 2016 with West Virginia in the lead with 15 percent.
The percentage of the residents of West Virginia with diabetes rose by 8.7 percent in the two-decade period from 1997 to 2016 even if the state’s population remained practically unchanged during the same period.
Statistics on diabetes place West Virginia on top of the chart or as one of the highest in different categories.
West Virginia ranks second at 39.7% nationally for obesity among adults.
The high rate of obesity brings along other physical problems, especially diabetes.
Some reasons attributed to their problem of obesity include socioeconomic status, lack of dieticians, and even the high numbers of fast-food eateries in their place.
Despite its small and falling population, the state has a high poverty rate of 16% which is higher than the national average. It is the third poorest state in the country, with a per capita income of $23,450 in 2015.
According to studies, living in poverty in the two years preceding diagnosis increased the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 2%; the risk does not change when weight or physical activity are taken into account.
Low-income populations in Western countries have been found to be more likely to develop diabetes.
The state of West Virginia has initiated several programs to manage its increasing burden of diabetes.
The state’s Department of Health and Human Resources’ Diabetes Prevention and Control has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other statewide organizations to introduce the National Diabetes Prevention Program in West Virginia.
Employees and volunteers have already completed their training to enable them to facilitate the program and serve as lifestyle coaches for the participants.
But it is not enough to control the growth of diabetes.
We need to spread more awareness on health, food choices, early diagnosis, and prevention. It has to be a shared responsibility between the government and its citizens.