NOVEMBER 28, 2025 HEALTH November is diabetes awareness month Before 1982, Diabetes Awareness Month had been broadcast and promoted in the month of October. However, in 1982, President Ronald Reagan designated November as a national Diabetes Awareness Month. Diabetes is a serious medical issue, and about 34.8 million Americans are currently diagnosed with it. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute for Health (NIH) have reported that one out of three Americans are at risk of developing diabetes. They also reported that about three percent of American teenagers have the risk of being diagnosed as pre-diabetic. What is pre-diabetes? According to the National Institute of Health website: “Prediabetes is a precursor before the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Adults with prediabetes often show no signs or symptoms of diabetes but will have blood sugar levels higher than normal. The normal blood glucose level is between 70 mg/dL to 99 mg/ dL. In patients with prediabetes, you can expect to see blood glucose levels elevated between 110 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL.” We do want to focus on the definition and explanations for diabetes 1 and 2. According to the NIH and CDC: “Type 1 diabetes is a chronically progressive autoimmune disease that affects approximately 1% of the population in the developed world. This adverse immune response is induced and promoted by the interaction of both genetic and environmental factors. In contrast, in type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance coupled with reduced insulin output is the primary cause of hyperglycaemia (affecting approximately 8.5% of the adult population).” What are CDC experts saying about prevalence and prevention of diabetes? Prevalence: In the United States, 15.8% of adults have diabetes (11.3% diagnosed and 4.5% undiagnosed). About 1 in 3 American adults (97.6 million) have prediabetes. Prevalence increases with age, among men more than women, and among those who are overweight or have a family history of the disease. Prevalence is higher among certain racial and ethnic groups, such as American Indian and Alaska Native adults (13.6%), non-Hispanic Black adults (12.1%), and Hispanic adults (11.7%). Prevention: Type 2 diabetes can often be prevented or delayed through lifestyle changes. Losing even a small amount of weight if you are overweight can make a significant difference. Focus on whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Limiting WILL SHAKESPEARE Groundcover vendor No. 258 sugar-sweetened beverages is also beneficial. Aim for regular physical activity. The causes of type 1 diabetes are not fully understood, and there is currently no known way to prevent it. A Stanford University Pediatrician, Alok Patel, recently appeared on ABC News Program which discussed the challenge of diabetes during the Diabetes National Month of Awareness. He noted that 34.8 million Americans are currently suffering from diabetes and every year, 1.2 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes. He also suggested solutions for combatting the issues of diabetes this holiday season. His prescriptions include being careful about our nutrition and to keep moving. See attached link: abcnews.go.com/Health/video/ simple-steps-lower-risk-diabetes-127353807 Links between obesity and diabetes There have been a lot of concerns about childhood obesity linking to type 2 diabetes. We would like to share the CDC and NIH reports on that topic. The prevalence of diabetes increases as a person's BMI goes up (30=obese), making obesity a significant risk factor. Obesity is a leading cause of type 2 diabetes, contributing to nearly 60% of cases. Obesity can lead to a condition called insulin resistance.High levels of free fatty acids, often found in people with obesity, can negatively affect the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. The CDC and NIH emphasize that lifestyle changes, such as losing weight and increasing physical activity, can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. Research and public health efforts: • The CDC identifies obesity as a key modifiable risk factor for type 2 diabetes and promotes healthy eating and physical activity to reduce risk. • The NIH conducts extensive research into the relationship between obesity and diabetes, including studies on the underlying physiology, the development of new treatments, and the impact of weight loss on related conditions like fatty liver disease. • The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has a specific office dedicated to obesity research. If you have a BMI of 25 or higher, especially with other risk factors like a family history of diabetes, it is recommended to talk to a healthcare provider about diabetes screening. Weight management through healthy eating and physical activity is a crucial step in reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Local expert weighs in I talked to retired University of Michigan medical doctor and research scientist, Dr. “Mad” Max. He is one of the volunteers at Groundcover News along with his wife, Mary. We did an interview at the Groundcover News Office on November 20, 2025. WS: What do you think about November as the National Diabetes Awareness Month? Dr. Max: Seasonal differences are of no use. Making it seasonal is not a value to the population, in terms of diabetes. Secondly, the value of awareness of the two types of diabetes is vastly different. [Why?] Awareness of type 1 is a medical condition for which family history is most important. Awareness of type 2 diabetes has social and economic value to the population because of the importance of obesity to its cause. WS: What is the definition of diabetes? Dr. Max: Type 1 is a disease of insufficient production of the hormone insulin, which enables sugar to be metabolized. It’s really glucose. However, people can refer to it as “sugar.” Type 2 is the block of the effect of insulin to metabolize sugar. The point is that they are two different diseases. And one is specifically treated with insulin, with predictions of success of the treatment. Type 2’s cause is not sufficiently known for a treatment to be predictably successful. The discovery of the hormone insulin and its use in treatment of a younger person with insulin deficiency type 1 was successful — that is, it saved his life. That has become the basis of life-saving treatment of type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes cannot now be prevented. The emphasis now on research is to obtain the treatments which could prevent type 1 diabetes. In type 1 now, the treatment will be insulin. The goals of research is to obtain treatment which could prevent type 1 diabetes, to prevent failure of the pancreas gland to produce insulin. WS: As we celebrate the national holidays in November, December and January, what should we do to prevent any forms of diabetes? Dr. Max: Focus on whether one has type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Limit the intake of calories to prevent weight gain. Limit what you eat. Watch the calories you eat so that you do not gain weight. The health team from WRAL News talked to Harvard experts about the best way to avoid Type 2 Diabetes. The doctors said, “Type 2 Diabetes can be avoided by eating better.” This expert advice was published by WRAL News (Raleigh, N.C.) on March 1, 2016. The doctors also said what our local expert Dr. “Mad” Max proclaimed, "Many people are at risk of Type 2 diabetes, but they might not know it.” Prudent medical advice is to watch diets and eat better. The doctors recommended some foods and drinks to avoid in order to minimize the risk of type 2 diabetes. Our readers who want to see the specific recommendations should google “Harvard Experts: To Avoid Type 2 Diabetes, Watch Diets.” It is important for our readers to know that there is a close link between diabetes and cardiovascular diseases such as heart problems. Experts from the scientific journal “Seconds Count” offered the following viewpoints, “The relationship between diabetes and CVD is clear, but the causes are complex. High blood glucose levels see DIABETES page 16 GROUNDCOVER NEWS 15
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