33% of U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050

A new study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that up to 1/3 of U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050, if that current trends continue.

According to the CDC report, the prevalence of diabetes is likely to rise aggressively due to an aging population, increases of type 2 diabetes among minority groups that are at high risk, and people livings longer with diabetes. The rise in number of obese American is also one of the largest contributors to the CDC’s projection

In the United States, one in 10 adults has diabetes, a condition in which the body is not able to properly process the sugars found in food without the help of insulin injections. That number may climb to 33% of the adult population in a few decades. The last revision put the number at 39 million in 2050. The new estimate takes it to the range of 76 million to 100 million. Surprisingly, 25% of people don’t know they have diabetes.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body has trouble processing sugar. It was the nation’s seventh leading cause of death, costing tax payers around $174 billion a year.It is also and is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults under age 75. People diagnosed with diabetes have medical costs that are more than twice that of those without the disease.

Both the CDC and the American Diabetes Association state that a large number of cases of type 2 diabetes can be prevented by simple changes in diet and exercise.