Diabetes Essay

According to ezinearticles.com, diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in United States. So what is this rising epidemic that is destroying millions of lives? Diabetes is a metabolic disease in which a person has a high level of sugar in their blood. This means that the body is resistance to the insulin, the body does not produce enough insulin, or the body does not produce any insulin at all. The three main types of diabetes are Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational diabetes. There may be severe complications if the diabetes is not controlled and could even lead to death.

Insulin is a hormone that is very important for our body in order to function properly. When the insulin is secreted by the pancreas, it breaks down food into glucose. Glucose flows through the bloodstream and into the cells. The cells carries these glucose throughout our body for energy. In a normal person, their pancreas secretes the right amount of insulin in order for their body to break down food and store energy into the cells. In a diabetic person, insulin is not produced, insulin production is inadequate, or the cells resist to the insulin. Improper production and resistance to insulin will lead to the cause of Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, or Gestational diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is also known as insulin-dependent diabetes. This means that the body does not produce any insulin because the beta cells that produce insulin are destroyed. Patients with Type 1 diabetes will need insulin injection in order for the body to break down food and store energy. Insulin can be only be use as an injection because if it is taken as a pill, it will get digested instead of aiding the breakdown of the glucose. People with Type 1 will develop diabetes before the a...

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...% of population) children and adult has diabetes in United States. 18.8 million were diagnosed and 7 million are undiagnosed. Under the age of 20, 1 in every 400 children and adolescent have diabetes. From the age rage of 20-64, 11.3% have diabetes, and age 65 and over, 26.9% of all people in the group have diabetes. The statistic shows that men are slightly more affected with diabetes, 13% compared to 12.6% in women. In a 2007-2009 data collected for people over age 20 who were diagnosed with diabetes, the rates were: 7.1% of non-Hispanic whites, 8.4% of Asian Americans, 12.6% of non-Hispanic blacks, 11.8% of Hispanics. Among Hispanics rates were: 7.6% for Cubans, 13.3% for Mexican Americans, and 13.8% for Puerto Ricans. In 2007, diabetes contributed to a total of 231,404 deaths.

Diabetes is one of the fastest growing epidemics in America and also around the world