Our Tobacco and Chronic Disease team released the 2011 Diabetes Burden Report this week. And you guessed it- a primary cause is a lack of physical activity and poor nutrition (I know I sound like a broken record). Diabetes is linked to heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney failure, neuropathy and even amputations. Sadly, AZ and the nation are on the wrong track when it comes to diabetes- and the number of folks living with diabetes has gone from about 7% to 9% in the last 5 years.
Diabetes is largely preventable and manageable… and folks with well-managed diabetes do much better. The cornerstone for prevention is better nutrition and more physical activity. The cornerstone for treatment is self-management, education and training. Our 2011 Diabetes Burden Report is a work in progress, as our staff will be updating it on a yearly basis in consort with our partners and other stakeholders across the state. It’s a valuable resource for improving our collective efforts to fight the alarming trends of diabetes through prevention, early detection, and effectively disease management.