In a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 million Americans have diabetes and one in four of these people don't know they have it. In 2010, CDC reported that 26 million Americans have diabetes which is about 9.3% of the population. However, by 2014, the rate increased to 29 million.
Subsequently, another 86 million or one third of the population have prediabetes or headed down the road to diabetes. They have blood sugars higher than normal but not high enough to be categorized as diabetes.
CDC added that if there would be no weight loss and moderate physical activity, 15 -30 percent of people with prediabetes will have or develop type 2 diabetes within five years.
Ann Albright, who directs the division of diabetes translation at the CDC says, "These new numbers are alarming and underscore the need for an increased focus on reducing the burden of diabetes in our country. Diabetes is costly in both human and economic terms. It's urgent that we take swift action to effectively treat and prevent this serious disease."
In 2012, a report by the CDC based on health data, 1.7 million people aged 20 and older in the United States were newly diagnosed with diabetes in 2012. They also said that races such as Non-Hispanic black, Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native are as twice as likely to have diabetes.
Moreover, CDC says that diabetes and its associated complications can incur about $245 billion in medical costs and lost work wages in 2012. In 2007, the estimates were $174 billion.
Diabetes is a serious disease that can be prevented through physical activity, diet and use of medicines such as insulin and oral medications to lower blood sugar levels. People with this disease are more likely to develop complications such as vision loss, stroke, heart diseases, kidney failure, amputation of extremities and even death.