American Diabetes Month: Floridians Impacted In Large Numbers

November 11, 2014

November is American Diabetes Month. As the prevalence of the disease continues to rise across the state and nation, the number of Floridians with diabetes is expected to increase.

David Becker, a spokesman for the American Diabetes Association, says the latest numbers show 29 million Americans with diabetes, and the toll on health can be great, including kidney failure, blindness, amputations and more.

“There are a lot of co-morbid diseases as far as diabetes and cancer and heart disease,” he points out. “It all kind of is interrelating.”

Becker says about 95 percent of those people who have diabetes have Type 2, which healthier lifestyle choices with nutrition and physical activity can help prevent.

In Florida a little more than 1.7 million have diabetes, but that  is expected to increase  to nearly three million by 2030, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Becker notes that even some simple, small changes with healthy eating and regular exercise can yield big results. “If you lose just 7 percent of your body weight, you can decrease your chances of getting diabetes by 58 percent,” he stresses.

If the current trends don’t change, it’s estimated that by 2050, 30 percent of all Americans will have diabetes.

by The Florida News Connection

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FEATURE TOP STORY, Features, News