Diabetes on the Rise? Bah, Humbug

By Rachel Stockton 

In the Charles Dickens Christmas classic “A Christmas Carol”, the ghost of Christmases to come (the scary guy in the phantom outfit) tells Scrooge that if he doesn’t change his miserly and miserable ways, he’ll die a lonely old man.

If you scratch the “lonely” part, diabetes researchers have told the journal Diabetes Care something frighteningly similar: if lifestyle changes do not occur, the number of older adults with diabetes will double by the year 2034.  And there’s more:  the cost of treating those with diabetes could triple and rise to $171 billion. 

At this point, 65% of American adults are overweight and one-third are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) – these percentages doubled between 1980-2004.

The Culprit:  Obesity

While our relative affluence in this country may be a “good” thing, we are paying a terrible price for having access to all kinds of unhealthy fare.  The same goes for physical labor:  technology does most of the physical work for us, whether we’re talking about doing the laundry or preparing a meal.  Without compensating for a lack of “lifestyle” physicality, many adults have become sedentary as a result.

For all of our intellectual capital (i.e., we should know better), baby boomers, it turns out, are actually sicker than their parents were.  And, should the trend continue, the offspring of boomers will be sicker, still.

The difference between the boomer generation and that of their parents is that once baby boomers DO start to get sick, they put their knowledge to use by doing what needs to be done to reverse some of the damage.

The problem with that particular stratagem is that it is reactionary; psychological studies have clearly shown that adults who approach life proactively rather than reactively are physically and emotionally healthier.  Rather than allowing life to merely happen, they take charge and put the knowledge they have to good use.

How this translates into the world of healthcare is simply this: researchers tell WebMd that in order to put a screeching halt to all of this, we need to focus on the basics, such as nutrition and physical activity. 

As all Dickens aficionados know, Scrooge learned the lessons all of the “ghosts” tried to tell him, even the grim reaper guy.  Hopefully, we will similarly realize that in order to enjoy a greater quality of life, we must implement little changes that will bring healthy results.