Diabetes is an escalating public health concern that is defined as the body experiencing a shortage of insulin or decreased ability to use insulin, causing blood glucose levels to be above normal. The State of Obesity 2014 Report, indicated that 9.6% percent of Nevadans in 2013 had been diagnosed with diabetes; and furthermore, at this current pace there will be a projected 311,630 cases of diabetes in 2030.1 Nationally, it is estimated that 27.8 percent of people with diabetes are undiagnosed.2
Unmanaged diabetes or prolonged undiagnosed diabetes could lead to serious health complications; e.g., heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, lower-extremity amputations and death. Diabetes; however, can be treated and managed by healthy eating, regular physical activity, and medications to lower blood glucose levels. Patient education and self-care practices also are important aspects of prevention and disease management that help individuals, prevent, delay and control diabetes.
- The State of Obesity 2014, Trust for America’s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Washington, D.C.: 2014.http://stateofobesity.org/states/nv/.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Statistics Report: Estimates of Diabetes and Its Burden in the United States, 2014. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2014