Mushrooming: Diabetes Rates Double in Just Three Decades

Startling new statistics published just weeks ago in the journal The Lancet suggest that nearly 350 million adults worldwide now have diabetes.

Still not fazed? Consider this: That count is more than double what it was in 1980.

And, while it’s clear that a now-global obesityepidemic is in large part fueling the phenomenon, there’s so much more at play – for instance, a little thing called genetics. Case in point: While more than 25 percent of the population is obese in more than two-thirds of all U.S. states, only about 8 percent of Americans are diabetic. So, clearly, while maintaining a healthy weight is a really important part of delaying or avoiding diabetes,  it’s not the whole story. (Just to shake things up some more, here’s another fact to chew on: As many as 20 percent of persons with type 2 diabetes are not overweight. You can read more popular diabetes myths here.)

To gain better insight into this often misunderstood disease – its various types, the causes and symptoms, and the heavy burden it places on persons living with it (from both fiscal and quality-of-life standpoints) – we spoke with URMC expert and endocrinologist Dr. Steve Wittlin.

In the clip below, he offers a crash course in diabetes.

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Want to know more about the diabetes care available through URMC? Click here to learn about the spectrum of services offered by our team of endocrinologists, nurse practitioners, nutritionists, and nationally certified diabetes educators.

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*  The above story is adapted from materials provided by University of Rochester Medical Center

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