Indicator Definitions – Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic progressive disease that affects how our body turns food into energy. There are three main types of diabetes; type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes in women occurring while pregnant). Insulin, a pancreatic hormone, acts like a key to let the blood sugar into the body’s cells for use as energy. When a person has diabetes, the body either does not make enough insulin (type 1) or is unable to properly use insulin (type 2). When this occurs, the blood sugar (glucose) builds up in the blood and, over time, can lead to heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, amputations of the legs and feet and even premature death. Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. In the United States, more than 133 million Americans were living with diabetes (37.3 million) or prediabetes (96 million) in 2019. For more information, visit Diabetes Basics | CDC.
Although we do not yet know how to prevent type 1 diabetes, we can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes by adopting healthier lifestyles through ways including but not limited to implementing healthier diets and staying active. The National Diabetes Prevention Program | CDC, a partnership of public and private organizations, makes it easier for people at risk for type 2 diabetes to participate in evidence-based lifestyle change programs to reduce their risk of diabetes.
Visit National Diabetes Prevention Program | CDC for more information.