Number of Adults With Diabetes

• According the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, 23.5 million Americans over the age of 20 have diabetes. That translates into 10.7% of all adults, but that percentage number more than doubles when adults over the age of 60 are examined. Over the age of sixty, 23.1% of adults have diabetes, which means that at least one in five is affected. The same source indicates that direct and indirect diabetes costs in the United States reach over $170 billion yearly. (Distinctions between different types of diabetes were not made.)
  
  

Lifestyle Factors

• Although there is not a definitive answer as to why diabetes is so common among adults, there are influencing factors. There are different types of diabetes, but more than 90% of people with diabetes have type 2, characterized by insulin resistance. Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, differs from type 2 in that instead of presenting insulin resistance, the pancreas virtually stops producing insulin. Type 1 diabetics are dependent on insulin for survival, and unlike adult diagnosis, most childhood diagnosis is type 1, not type 2. A person's body becomes more insulin-resistant as it ages, especially after the age of 70. There is also a correlation between being overweight and developing insulin resistance. Sedentary lifestyle and a diet that relies heavily on processed and sweetened foods, when combined with other factors, such as genetics, also play a role in developing diabetes.
  
  

Reducing Diabetes Risks

• The Diabetes Prevention Program, in an intensive three-year study involving more than 3,000 overweight adults with elevated glucose levels, concluded that modest lifestyle changes drastically reduce diabetes diagnoses. For example, adding 30 minutes of daily exercise and a 5 to 10 percent weight loss reduced the risk of diabetes by 58 percent. For seniors over the age of 70, adding daily exercise and losing weight reduces risk of developing diabetes by 71 percent. That could mean incorporating a walk after dinner or breakfast, and losing from 10 to 20 pounds for a person who currently weighs 200 pounds. For a person who is already diagnosed with diabetes, daily exercise, coupled with achieving and maintaining a healthy weight and a healthy diet can help avoid or reduce diabetic complications.