HHS HealthBeat (June 25, 2008)

Up three million

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Diabetes is becoming more common. The latest estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say nearly 24 million people have diabetes -- up three million people in two years.

The CDC says another 57 million people have prediabetes, which means they’re at increased risk for developing the disease.

Diabetes increased for both sexes and in all age groups, although it still appears more often in people over 60 and among certain ethnic or racial groups.

But there’s a drop in the proportion of people who have diabetes but don’t know it. That’s important, because most people can take necessary steps to treat diabetes.  

The CDC’s Dr. Ann Albright:

"You can change your management of your blood pressure and cholesterol. You can do something about your eating habits and physical activity, and your body weight." (8 seconds)

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011