Living longer, but not without diabetes

At nearly 78 years, the average life expectancy for Americans is higher than ever. Unfortunately, the quality of those extra years is not necessarily better. A study just published in Diabetes Care reports that the incidence of diabetes in this country has risen right along with the average life expectancy. Advances in health care absent any real changes in lifestyle mean that those with diabetes now spend an average of four more years living with the disease than they did in the 1980s.

A study led by a professor of global health at Emory University examined data from the 1980s through today from a number of sources, including the National Vital Statistics System and the National Health Interview Survey. Among other disheartening statistics, they found that the number of 18-year-olds who will develop diabetes over their lifetime went up by almost half for women, and nearly double for men. And, as one would expect, the loss of diabetes-free life was greatest in the obese population.

The implications of the study are clear, if not necessarily easy to instate: People can reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by keeping their weight down and exercising. An expert at the American Diabetes Association notes that walking 30 minutes a day and losing about 5 percent of one s body weight are steps that obese people can take to decrease their risk of diabetes by 60 percent over a three-year period.

This study is important because it underscores how the incidence of obesity and diabetes in this country must be addressed in tandem, says ACSH's Dr. Ross. Clearly, the kind of lifestyle changes that reduce obesity and thus prevent one s chances of developing diabetes in the first place are preferable to the extended but much lower quality of life that diabetics can now expect.

Indeed, adds ACSH s Dr. Ruth Kava, "Research has shown that lifestyle changes can be as, or more, effective in lowering the risk of diabetes-associated complications; if they are initiated early enough, type 2 diabetes may be prevented as well.