Daily HealthBeat Tip

Heading toward diabetes

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

About 41 million Americans are heading toward getting diabetes. That’s more people than live in the state of California.

These folks have what’s called pre-diabetes. Their blood sugar levels are high, but not so high as to put them among the nearly 21 million Americans who have diabetes.

People with pre-diabetes have time to avoid diabetes – and its risk of heart disease, stroke, blindness and lower-limb amputation.

The director of the diabetes program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Frank Vinicor:

"If you would be able to lose perhaps as little as five percent of your weight – that is maybe seven to 10 pounds – and if you can also increase your activity by walking 30 minutes a day, walking vigorously most days of the week, you can reduce your chances of diabetes by as much as almost 70 percent." (19 seconds)

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 21, 2005

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