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CDC: Approximately 8% of U.S. Population Are Diabetic

time.com — The number of Americans with diabetes has grown to about 24 million people, or roughly 8 percent of the U.S. population, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. They also estimate another 57 Million people have blood sugar abnormalities called pre-diabetes, putting them at an increased risk of it developing into diabetes.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 26, 2008

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  • inactive, on 06/25/2008, -3/+52Hi, George Carlin?
  • Bukowsky, on 06/25/2008, -0/+32yea.... i know. Not sure what to say... The Digg Submission process didn't give me any options for thumbnails, but once I hit submit, George Carlin showed up...

    It's all good though. The look on his face is priceless
  • hdar3415, on 06/25/2008, -0/+20George Carlin must feel that this is an important article.
  • Hetman, on 06/26/2008, -0/+16This calls for more corn syrup and fast. On a serious note though diabetes is a horrible problem. I am native american and on average our diabetic rates are about triple the national average. And it is a horrible sight I have relatives who have lost legs because of diabetis. But in the end you do have to take responsibilty for your actions.
  • cobophers, on 06/26/2008, -1/+12Diabetes is better if its served with french fries and a big gulp. That's what Dr. Nick told me.

    Bye Everybody!!

  • warholsbluecat, on 06/26/2008, -1/+10DIABEETUS
  • Khast, on 06/26/2008, -0/+8As mentioned in the above comments...corn syrup is to blame. Well, here's a shocker, if you know how to read the ingredients..the higher up on the list, the more the product contains.

    Read most of your ingredient labels...usually within the first 10 ingredients there is usually 3-6 different "sugars" ... if it ends in "-ose" 85% chance it is a sugar.

    Cinnamon is a natural aid for people with Diabetes. It helps restore insulin balance. (Has to be from the bark, and processed minimally.)
  • gumbych, on 06/26/2008, -0/+7OK, I actually finally registered because it is very frustrating how often people get this confused.
    Juvenile Diabetes (type 1) does not have anything to do with being a juvenile. Type 1 means that your immune system has determined that the islet of langerhan cells (produce insulin) are a threat. Your immune system will kill them as if they are a foreign body (this is why transplants do not work on type 1 diabetics). Eating has nothing at all to do with type 1 ever, for any reason. The genetic link is looking less and less likely as well. It seems an infection during your early years (causing the immune system to identify both the infection and insulin producing cells as targets) is the cause.

    Type 2 has a clear genetic component and is becoming more and more common in juvenile's as this pointer was attempting to describe, but attributed the cause to the wrong disease.

    It would make life easier for everyone if the medical community would finally label these two diseases separately as they are totally unrelated. It would clear up a great deal of ignorance and misconceptions. For instance not giving a type 1 diabetic suffering insulin shock sugar because "sugar is bad for diabetics". In the case of insulin shock it could be life savings.
  • shutaro, on 06/26/2008, -1/+8Oh, quit complaining and have another box of Twinkies.
  • end3rthe3rd, on 06/26/2008, -2/+9Dugg for George
  • LoganFive, on 06/26/2008, -0/+6I'm disappointed that this article makes no distinction between Type I and Type II Diabetes. It appears that they're referring to Type II Diabetes here, but nothing is mentioned about which portion of the 24 million people had _no_choice_ in the matter, and which took voluntary actions that resulted in Type II Diabetes.
  • h3lx, on 06/26/2008, -1/+7High Fructose Corn Syrup... hmmmm mmmm delicious.
  • DrPh0bius, on 06/26/2008, -2/+7Actually, type 1 WAS mostly genetic, but it is becoming more and more a condition brought on by sedentary lifestyles combined with poor nutrition resulting in a damaged insulin response in the body.
    Its sad to see a child who should be 60 or 70 lbs and is actually 30 or 40 lbs overweight already.

    The article lists 8% (24 million people) as diabetic, but I dont think they stress the point that the other 57 million people who are pre-diabetic will almost all become diabetic due to them not treating the condition and for the most part ignoring it until it is too late.

    As much as I would like to blame corn syrup and McDonalds for this... in the end these are all individual choices. No one is twisting your arm and forcing you to have Frosted Flakes for breakfast instead of eggs.
  • kg37, on 06/26/2008, -1/+6Diet is a big factor, but exercise is far bigger. Get off your butts, people!!!
  • Xihix, on 06/26/2008, -1/+5George's face is just expressing how he feels about this. But anyway, it's a shame that obesity and other weight problems is causing so many people to get type 2 diabetes (not type 1, which is mostly genetic). People just need to get more educated on nutrition and to start getting active!
  • ttam, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3I'd say that's pretty low considering the food available in this country.
  • Borgcube636, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3You can lose legs from diabetes? I'm curious, because my grandma has diabetes
  • bombula, on 06/26/2008, -1/+4The solution is to tax high fructose corn syrup and other processed ***** in our food. That will make it too expensive to eat like crap. People mostly eat poorly because it's cheaper to. Warning labels like "the ***** we put in our food will give you diabetes if you eat it more than once a week" would also help.
  • haleym, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3Indeed - he would have loved the term 'pre-diabetes' almost as much as the term 'pre-boarding'.
  • valoss, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3Not ALL type II diabetics voluntarily choose to become diabetics by being sedentary gluttons. At age 24 (6'0 tall, 170 pounds, daily exercise, balanced diet) I was diagnosed with type II diabetes. Sadly, there are other factors contributing to this growing problem.

    Still, every time I go to my internist, he tells me how RARE it is that he sees a patient like me who actually watches carbohydrate intake, exercises, and generally takes interest in overall health.
  • theeyesandteeth, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3Please keep in mind that when this article refers to "DIABETES" it is talking about "TYPE 2 DIABETES".
    You should be more responsible when posting "DIABETES" topics.
    They are two different diseases.
  • rsilvera, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3Did Somebody Say, "McDonald's"?
  • cawpin, on 06/26/2008, -1/+4It ALWAYS gives you an option. You just didn't pick the "No Thumbnail" button.

    That said, this article is stupid. They explain the whole rise in numbers that is somehow concerning. More people are reported to have diabetes because less people that have it are unaware of it. Less people living with it unknowingly = more people reported to have it.
  • chrgrose, on 06/26/2008, -1/+4I'm working on increasing that percentage. 5th Mountain Dew of the day and I'm almost done with a box of milk duds.
  • Indierocka, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3Part of the problem too is that some people consider bleached white bread part of the wheat group and ketchup a vegetable.
  • savagesteve13, on 06/26/2008, -1/+4One big problem is that diabetics survive now and continue to have children, so the gene continues on and spreads.
    Not too long ago diabetes was a death sentence, so Type I's rarely got old enough to have children.
  • liuite, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3diabetes is very destructive because it causes the body to produce Advanced Glycation End-products...it can easily become a vicious downward spiral leading to kidney failure, etc.
  • tom8658, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2I would like to thank the current crop of dietitians who spread garbage science such as,

    * the high-carb, low-fat, low-protein food pyramid (research funded by agro-business, of course)
    * high protein diets will destroy your kidneys
    * "Your body can only process X grams of protein at a time", where X is some ridiculously low number like 15 or 30

    It's not really their fault, it's just that education of RD's hasn't quite caught up to modern science.
  • MacEnvy, on 06/26/2008, -1/+3You know, there are tribes in South America and Africa who have subsisted on a mostly carbohydrate diet for thousands of years. Not from grains, but from tubers and the like. There's nothing inherently bad about a high-carb diet provided an appropriate amount of exercise accompanies it.

    I'm tires of people bashing carbs as though they're some new thing that's killing us all. Eat all the pasta and potatoes you want, just get a little exercise and you'll be fine.
  • Merendino, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Aye, I understand that. As my stepfather has type I diabetes and is understandably thin. My uncle (stepfathers brother-in-law) has type II diabetes and is very thin as well. My girlfriends brother is 19 and has type II diabetes and is also very thin. My stepfathers mom (who is no longer with us) had type II diabetes and was a very large woman. Her husband (stepfathers dad) has type II diabetes and is of very average/thinner side.

    As much of an ***** as I sounded, I like to laugh and make sweeping generalizations whenever I can. On the internet I'm an anonymous voice. But in honesty, I don't believe Diabetes just materialized out of thin air. And since it is partially genetic, I'd wager that the widespread distribution of this disease is partially from the sins of our fathers/mothers as well as our horrible eating choices in America. While you personally may not be responsible for your contraction of the disease, it remains to be said that healthy weighted people are less likely to develop diabetes on their own with no genetic pre-disposition. Either way, it will be my Karma to come back in the next life as a fat woman with horrible acne and numerous chronic diseases.
  • xBlackDust, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2No....
    If you are to ignorant to understand what you are putting in your own body then natural selection should take care of you over time.
  • gryphon50, on 06/26/2008, -2/+4what I find just as amazing is that every single diabetic I know is doing absolutely NOTHING that the doctor says. They don't lose weight, eat right, exercise, nothing! All they do is take a pill and expect that to fix everything. My husband is always finding boxes of twinkies and stuff at his mother's house, for instance.
  • lakuma, on 06/26/2008, -1/+3I'm a type 1 Diabetic (27 years) and it makes me sick to hear how people with type 2 aren't doing anything to get rid of their diabetes. They have a choice I don't! If I had the choice not to be a diabetic like people with type 2, I would do something about it NOW. Unfortunately I don't have a choice and I have to live with it until there is a cure, which I hope every day there is.
  • Hetman, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2What happens is. It cuts off the blood flows to your extremities. And with out enough oxygen and other nutrients getting to these parts of the body they eventually die. For instance my great aunt started by having her left foot removed. And eventually she had to have her leg removed all the way up to right above the knee. And she also had to have her other foot eventually removed. It is very sad and horrible. And like I said native americans genetically are more prone to diabetes than other races so I do see lots of amputee's when I go back to the reservation.
  • dusanmal, on 06/26/2008, -2/+4Result of decades of Govt. promoted "food pyramid" diet. During 99.75% of our evolution we have not had access to the major ingredients it requires (ex. grains: before agriculture we were not able to efficiently collect grains in amount that would even cover grain collecting itself) which makes us fat and potentially diabetic. Percentage based on 4 mil. yrs. of human evolution and 10000 yrs. of agriculture. Junk the pyramid and eat what our ancestors could have eaten in amount they could get it and be healthy. And I do not mean the proven extinct vegan/vegetarian humanoid evolutionary dead-end branches.
  • babydill, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2damn! that's way more than i even thought. [learned something new today] thanks to digg.com
  • sgtpppr, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Yeah, what we need is more Nanny State in the US. How can people bitch about the gov't eroding civil liberties when people are proactively attempting to get rid of their own liberties. People like you are the most dangerous group in the US because you are trying to remove the rights of others.
  • inactive, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Me: 92% of America does not have diabetes. See! Happy article! Why do they call it diabetes anyway? They need to call it livebetes!
  • mike11stevens, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Aren't higher taxes the answer to every problem that faces America?
  • mike11stevens, on 06/26/2008, -2/+4I am 29 years old, run over 3 miles 5 days a week, am 5' 11" tall and weigh 160 lbs (...I also enjoy long walks on the beach...). About a year and a half ago, I began losing a little bit of weight, feeling tired all of the time, and pissing constantly. Against my wife's wishes, I did not go to our family practitioner...until I began to have blurry vision. This was the first trip to the doctor for me in nearly 10 years! After much bloodwork, it became clear that I have type II diabetes. In spite of my good health (and relatively low body fat %), I still require medication (1000mg of glucophage daily). Since my initial diagnosis, I have seen a diabetes specialist and have attended a weekend long "bootcamp" for people who are new to diabetes. While I do agree that poor diet and lifestyle is undoubtedly at the root of a lot of people's type II diabetes, I feel compelled to share with everyone that some of us (not just type I diabetics) did not bring this upon ourselves. I follow my specialist's instructions to the letter and count the number of carbohydrates for every meal and snack (45-60g/meal, 15g/snack twice daily). I haven't had Coke in a year and a half. I did not eat birthday cake at my son's first birthday party....and the list goes on. Yet I still need medicine to control my blood sugar level. Again, I know and have experienced people who have let themselves go and as a direct result were more likely to get diabetes. I also know people who have seen the pictures of what can happen to their feet, yet still ignore their doctor's advice.

    Please just consider that not all type II diabetics are "Fatties" just as not all users on Digg are callous and insensitive *****.
  • madhouseradio, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2I agree with you except for the part about "eat all the potatoes and pasta you want". Keep in mind these tribal groups had diets that consisted on it but they don't eat them in the quantities that are afforded to us now. There's a difference in gathering tubers and mashing them into some rudimentary paste or baking them in a pit and our own modern ability to sit down to a steaming bowl of alfredo pasta every day. They're eating the stuff but not in huge quantities, only enough to sustain themselves and keep the local environment regenerating.

    You have to be a hard core athlete (runner, cyclist) if you want to live off of huge amounts of carbs a day. Everything in moderation works out.
  • valoss, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2I am 28 years old, 6'00 and weigh 163 pounds. I was diagnosed with type II diabetes 3 years ago. I was not obese, was very active, ate properly, etc.. It is very scary that other elements are contributing to this disease.
  • ahawks, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2As mentioned in my other comments..

    First, Type 1 and Type 2 need to be differentiated. This article never mentions which it's talking about, but I highly highly doubt 8% of the US is Type 1. It is almost universal now in the US that "diabetes" refers to Type 2 because so many more people have it.

    Second, as a Type 1 diabetic, I don't appreciate the word "problem" being associated with my reproduction :P
  • ahawks, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Sad that the article doesn't even feel the need to distinguish between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

    That just goes to further the misconceptions about diabetes.

    Type 2 is most likely caused by diet and lack of exersize, but type 1 is not. They are different conditions.
  • itspuddingtime, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2if anyone is actually really interested in this, here are some good links:
    Type 1 info: http://www.joslin.org/Beginners_guide_4244.asp
    Type 2 info: http://www.joslin.org/Beginners_guide_4243.asp

    and from the same site so we're clear (emphasis added):
    "Myth #1 Diabetes is caused by eating too much sugar. ***Diabetes is not caused by eating too much sugar.*** [...] Environmental triggers appear to cause the autoimmune disorder in those individuals with a genetic predisposition to the disease, and it isn’t caused by eating too many sweets."
  • Borgcube636, on 06/26/2008, -1/+3Diabeetus - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pod4jIKT_kA
  • ahawks, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1I *HAVE* type 1 diabetes. It developed when I was 25, I am 27 now.

    I have always been lean and in reasonable shape. I am 6 feet tall and am currently at my heaviest at 185lb.

    TYPE 1 DIABETES IS NOT CAUSED BY A SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE OR EATING TOO MUCH SUGAR.
  • ryan83189, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1"You check your blood sugar, and you check it often."
  • Frostek, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1That's nothing to be proud of, sadly.
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