Combating Type 2 Diabetes Epidemic in America Essay

In order to combat the epidemic of type 2 diabetes in America, a series of subsidies and social programs promoting and mandating nutrition and exercise for weight loss should be created with the trillion dollar budget. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in America is rising and has doubled over the last 30 years to 23 million (Campbell). Currently, it costs the nation about $90 billion a year to treat the complications of type 2 diabetes (Hoerger). Added with the co-morbidities of type 2 diabetes, namely cardiovascular disease, obesity, and kidney failure, it becomes apparent that drastic measures are needed. In order to combat this epidemic, the U.S. Congress is proposing to use a trillion dollars to do whatever it takes to reduce the†¦show more content†¦The daily food energy intake of Americans has been consistently rising since the early 1970’s while the energy expenditure has remained constant. A closer look at the data indicates that calories from fat are th e same or even slightly decreased, while the calories from carbohydrates have increased by about 20% (Gaesser). Coincidentally or not, this is also about the same time that high fructose corn syrup was introduced. Between 1970 and 2000 consumption increased from 0.6 to 73.5 lbs per person per year (Bray). Doing the math, this would result in an additional 360 calories a day, though it should be noted that other sugars were decreased over this time so the impact is roughly half of that. At the same time, the energy intake increased from 3200kcal/day to 3900 kcal/day (Gaesser). Taking this a step further is the fact that there is a strong linkage between diabetes and obesity or excess weight gain. Between 60 and 90% cases of type 2 diabetes can be linked to obesity. Increases in body mass index (BMI) are as linked to increased risk for diabetes as demonstrated by both the Pima Indians and female nurses. (Anderson) Altogether, this paints a picture that type 2 diabetes is prim arily due to excess body weight, which is fundamentally due to increased carbohydrate consumption, and in particular high fructose corn syrup. As obesity looks to be the principal cause of type 2 diabetes, treatments need to address bothShow MoreRelatedDiabetes : Diabetes And Type 2 Diabetes1645 Words   |  7 PagesStates (9.3 percent) have diabetes, and of those 29 million approximately 7.25 million are unaware that they are diabetic (www.cdc.gov). Diabetes describes a group of metabolic diseases in which the person has high blood glucose because insulin production is inadequate, or because the body s cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both. Diabetes can be divided into two groups: Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes. 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