Sugarland: Why Is Diabetes Growing So Rapidly?

Diabetes is the fastest-growing chronic disease in the United States. While there are two types of diabetes, the vast majority of patients have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 typically develops in adults and can develop as the result of a variety of factors, including diet, lifestyle and genetics (type 1 is an autoimmune disorder that used to be referred to as "juvenile diabetes).

There are 30 million type 2 diabetics in the U.S. and another 84 million who have been diagnosed as prediabetic, meaning lab tests show warning signs of elevated blood sugar, the defining symptom of diabetes. Over the course of the past decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been promoting the National Diabetes Prevention Program, which is a series of classes led by a life-style coach who advises prediabetics on how to maintain a healthy diet and get regular exercise. The goal is to keep these patients from developing full-on type 2 diabetes. And it might actually work.

A study found the class is far more effective than simply taking Metformin, a widely prescribed drug for prediabetics.

"From a public health perspective, this looks enticing," said Christopher Werth, WNYC's health editor. "If you can keep people from developing diabetes in the first place, then you can start to reduce that $100 billion price tag that we spend on this disease every year."

There's currently a proposal in the New York legislature to cover National Diabetes Prevention Program classes under Medicaid.

WNYC teamed up with The Harris Poll to conduct a nationwide survey among 2,029 adults aged 18+ between January 30 - February 1, 2018. It found there are many misconceptions about diabetes among respondents across a range of education levels. Specifically, the poll found a majority of people don't fully understand the causes of diabetes. Seventy-five percent believed diabetes is caused by poor lifestyle choices, and sugar was the most-picked risk factor for Diabetes, which is wrong for both kinds of diabetes. 

How much do you know about the treatment of diabetes? Take our quiz here.

Support for Sugarland is provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and Science Sandbox, an initiative of the Simons Foundation.