Growing Health Risk

November 16, 2008

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Profile America — Sunday, November 16th. November is set aside each year as National Diabetes Month. The goal is to make the public more aware of the serious nature of the disease and how to detect and control it. When our bodies are unable to maintain a normal blood sugar level, many complications may follow, including kidney failure. The disease is also the leading cause of new cases of blindness. Diabetes in the U.S. is on the rise, and some public health experts even refer to it as an epidemic, fueled by our overweight and inactive lifestyle. One widely debated study says drinking even one regular soda a day greatly increases the risk of contracting diabetes. Across the country, more than 74,000 people a year die from complications of the disease. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2008, p. 537
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2008, t. 111
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2008edition.html