Diabetes: Facts, Statistics, and You

Diabetes has a reputation for being “that thing your uncle mentions right before he declines dessert… then eats it anyway.”
But diabetes isn’t a punchlineit’s a big, complicated, very common health condition that touches families, schools,
workplaces, and basically every grocery store checkout line in America.

Here’s the good news: diabetes is also one of the most measurable conditions in medicine. We can track it, test for it,
and spot risk earlier than ever. We can lower risk for type 2 diabetes, manage diabetes well, and reduce complications.
The not-so-fun news: the numbers are still huge, and lots of people don’t know where they stand.

This guide breaks down what diabetes is, what the latest U.S. stats are telling us, why those numbers matter in real life,
and what “you” can do with the informationwithout turning your brain into a spreadsheet or your dinner into sadness.
(No one wants “sad salad” as a lifestyle.)

Diabetes in 60 Seconds (No Medical Degree Required)

Your body runs on glucose (a form of sugar). Insulinmade by your pancreasacts like the key that helps glucose move from
your bloodstream into your cells, where it becomes energy. Diabetes happens when that system doesn’t work the way it should:
either the body doesn’t make enough insulin, doesn’t use insulin effectively, or both. The result is higher-than-normal blood
glucose over time.

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is typically an autoimmune condition where the body attacks insulin-producing cells. People with type 1
need insulin to live, and it can develop at any age. It’s not caused by eating sugar, and there’s no known way to prevent it.
In adults, type 1 accounts for a minority of diagnosed diabetes cases.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form. The body still makes insulin, but doesn’t use it well (insulin resistance),
and over time the pancreas may not keep up. Genetics matter. Environment matters. Lifestyle factors can matter.
The key point: type 2 can often be prevented or delayed, especially when risk is identified early.

Prediabetes and Gestational Diabetes

Prediabetes means blood glucose is higher than normal but not yet in the diabetes range. It’s a serious warning signbut also
a powerful opportunity window. Gestational diabetes is diagnosed during pregnancy and raises the chance of type 2 diabetes later
for the birthing parent, plus can affect pregnancy and newborn outcomes if not managed.

The U.S. Diabetes Scoreboard: The Latest Big Numbers

Let’s start with the headline: diabetes is common in the United Statesso common that almost everyone knows someone living with it.
According to the CDC’s continually updated National Diabetes Statistics Report, an estimated 40.1 million people in the U.S.
had diabetes in 2023 (diagnosed or undiagnosed), about 12.0% of the population.

Here’s what that means in plain English: if you filled a large football stadium with Americans, a whole section would be living
with diabetesand plenty of them would have no idea.

Diagnosed vs. Undiagnosed: The Sneaky Part

The CDC estimates 29.1 million people had diagnosed diabetes, while about 11.0 million adults were living
with diabetes but undiagnosed. That’s roughly 27.6% of adults with diabetes who don’t know they have it.
Undiagnosed diabetes matters because high blood glucose can quietly damage blood vessels and nerves over time.

Prediabetes: Even Bigger Than Diabetes

Prediabetes is the “check engine” light. And it’s flashing for a lot of people.
The CDC’s latest estimates put prediabetes at about 115.2 million U.S. adults. Among adults 65 and older,
the estimate is 31.3 millionabout 52.1% of that age group.

Different reports may show different prediabetes counts depending on data years and methods. For example, other widely cited U.S.
estimates based on earlier national survey windows place adult prediabetes around the high double-digits (still “more than 1 in 3” adults).
The takeaway doesn’t change: prediabetes is extremely common, frequently unrecognized, and worth taking seriously.

Who’s Affected: Age, Race, and the “It’s Not Just Personal” Reality

Diabetes doesn’t distribute itself evenly. Age is a major factor: rates rise as people get older, which is one reason Medicare
populations see higher diabetes-related costs and complications.

But age isn’t the whole story. In U.S. data, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes has been reported as highest among
American Indian and Alaska Native adults, followed by non-Hispanic Black adults, Hispanic/Latino adults,
non-Hispanic Asian adults, and non-Hispanic White adults. These differences reflect a complicated mix of
genetics, access to health care, food environments, chronic stress, historical inequities, and more.

Translation: diabetes is about biology, yesbut it’s also about neighborhoods, work schedules, insurance, safe places to move,
and whether “healthy food” is affordable and realistic on a Tuesday at 8 p.m.

Why Diabetes Matters: Complications (Without the Doom-Scroll)

Diabetes isn’t just about numbers on a lab report. Over time, high blood glucose can damage blood vessels and nerves, raising risk
for complications like heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, vision problems, and
foot complications. That’s why good management and early detection matter: the goal is to protect the body long-term,
not “win” a single reading on a random Tuesday.

It’s also why prediabetes deserves respect. Prediabetes isn’t “basically fine.” It’s “you still have time to change the ending.”

Testing and Diagnosis: How People Actually Find Out

Most people don’t discover diabetes because they “feel sugar in their veins.” They discover it through screening, routine labs,
pregnancy testing, or a checkup prompted by symptoms. (And yes, sometimes symptoms show upbut diabetes can also be quiet.)

The Main Tests

• A1C test: reflects average blood glucose over about 2–3 months.
  • Normal: below 5.7%
  • Prediabetes: 5.7% to 6.4%
  • Diabetes: 6.5% or above
• Fasting plasma glucose (FPG): blood glucose after an overnight fast.
  • Normal: less than 100 mg/dL
  • Prediabetes: 100–125 mg/dL
  • Diabetes: 126 mg/dL or higher
• Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT): blood glucose response after a sweet drink.
  • Normal (2-hour): less than 140 mg/dL
  • Prediabetes (2-hour): 140–199 mg/dL
  • Diabetes (2-hour): 200 mg/dL or higher

Who Should Get Screened?

One widely used U.S. recommendation comes from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF):
screen adults ages 35 to 70 who have overweight or obesity for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes,
and offer or refer people with prediabetes to effective preventive interventions. The USPSTF also notes screening may be appropriate
earlier for groups with higher prevalence, and at lower BMI thresholds for some populations (such as Asian American adults).

For kids and teens, screening decisions are typically individualized and risk-based (family history, weight status, signs of insulin
resistance, etc.). If you’re a teen or the parent of one and you’re concerned, a clinician can help decide whether testing makes sense.

Important note: This article is educational, not medical advice. Diagnosis and treatment choices should always be made with a qualified clinician.

Prevention and Management: The “You” Part

If diabetes feels huge, it helps to split it into two categories:
(1) reducing risk of type 2 diabetes (especially with prediabetes) and
(2) managing diabetes well if you already have it.

If You Have Prediabetes (or Higher Risk)

The most encouraging thing about prediabetes is that it’s actionable. CDC-backed evidence shows that a structured lifestyle change
program for people with prediabetes can reduce risk of developing type 2 diabetes by about 58%and by about 71%
in people over age 60. That’s not “tiny improvement.” That’s “wow, this is worth doing.”

Programs like the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program emphasize practical skills: healthier eating patterns (not “perfect” eating),
regular physical activity, problem-solving, stress management, and support over time. Think: habits you can repeat, not a 10-day burst
of heroism followed by a 3-month nap.

If You Have Diabetes

Diabetes management isn’t a single trick. It’s a toolkit. Depending on the type of diabetes and your health profile, that toolkit may include:

• Monitoring glucose (sometimes with a fingerstick meter, sometimes with continuous glucose monitoring)
• Medications (which can include insulin and/or non-insulin options)
• Nutrition approaches tailored to your culture, budget, and actual life
• Physical activity that’s realistic, safe, and sustainable
• Managing blood pressure and cholesterol (because heart health matters a lot in diabetes)
• Regular eye, kidney, and foot checks to catch complications early

The best diabetes plan is the one you can live withand the one that treats you like a human being, not a math problem.

Dollars and Sense: The Economic Reality (Yep, It’s Big)

Diabetes is expensive at the personal level and at the national level.
One major analysis estimated the total cost of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. at $412.9 billion in 2022,
including $306.6 billion in direct medical costs and $106.3 billion in indirect costs (like lost productivity).

That same analysis found that care for people diagnosed with diabetes accounts for about 1 in 4 health care dollars in the U.S.
People with diabetes, on average, have medical expenditures about 2.6 times higher than would be expected without diabetes.

If that makes you think, “So prevention isn’t just personalit’s a public policy issue,” congratulations: you are now thinking like a health economist.
(You may celebrate by staring dramatically into the distance, preferably while holding a coffee.)

Quick Myth-Busting (Because the Internet Is Loud)

Myth: “Diabetes is only about eating sugar.”

Reality: Sugar intake can affect glucose levels, but diabetes risk and development involve genetics, insulin function, body weight,
physical activity, sleep, stress, medications, pregnancy history, and more. Reducing the whole topic to “dessert decisions” is like
blaming traffic on one car.

Myth: “Type 1 and type 2 are basically the same thing.”

Reality: They’re different conditions with different mechanisms and typical treatment approaches. Both deserve respect. Both are real.
Neither is a moral failing.

Myth: “Prediabetes isn’t a big deal.”

Reality: Prediabetes is a high-risk state and a huge opportunity. Catching it early can change outcomes.

What It Looks Like in Real Life: 5 Experience Snapshots (About )

Statistics are useful, but they don’t show what diabetes feels like at 7:12 a.m. when you’re trying to get out the door. So here are a few
real-world style snapshotscomposites of common experiences people sharebecause “diabetes: facts” should include the human part, too.

1) The Surprise Lab Result

Marcus, 38, goes in for a routine physical because his spouse schedules it and refuses to accept “I feel fine” as a medical plan.
His A1C comes back in the prediabetes range. Marcus is shocked because he’s not “a soda person” and he assumes diabetes is reserved for
people who eat frosting with a spoon. His clinician explains that prediabetes often has no symptoms, and that sleep, stress, family history,
and weight changes over the years matter. Marcus joins a structured lifestyle program mostly because it’s easier than trying to invent
a plan from scratch. He doesn’t become a marathon runner. He walks after dinner more often, swaps a few default meals, and learns how to
build a plate that doesn’t spike his hunger two hours later. The biggest change? He stops thinking in all-or-nothing terms.

2) Type 1 at School (And the Power of Planning)

Jayden, 15, lives with type 1 diabetes. His phone buzzes during math classnot because he’s texting, but because his glucose monitor is
warning him that he’s trending low. He takes a quick snack from his bag, tells the teacher what’s up, and keeps going.
The “hard” part isn’t the snack; it’s the mental loadremembering supplies, staying prepared for sports practice, and explaining to friends
that he didn’t “get diabetes from candy.” His family’s biggest win is building routines that make diabetes less dramatic: backup supplies,
a plan with the school nurse, and a mindset of “we handle it” instead of “we panic.”

3) The Family Pattern (And the Motivation That Actually Works)

Elena watches her dad manage type 2 diabetes and realizes the family has a pattern: big portions, long sitting hours, and a lot of
“we’ll start Monday.” When Elena’s own labs creep upward, she decides her goal isn’t to be perfectit’s to avoid sleepwalking into the same
story. She learns that “healthy eating” can still include cultural foods. It just needs some structure: more fiber, more protein, fewer
“everything is beige” meals, and fewer “oops, I forgot lunch” afternoons that lead to vending-machine dinners.

4) Gestational Diabetes and the Postpartum Plot Twist

Priya develops gestational diabetes during pregnancy. She feels judged at firstlike she failed some invisible test. Her care team reframes it:
pregnancy changes hormones, and some bodies need extra help. With monitoring and guidance, her pregnancy goes well. After delivery, her numbers
improvebut her clinician reminds her that gestational diabetes raises long-term risk of type 2 diabetes. Priya schedules follow-up testing,
not because she loves appointments, but because she loves having the full picture. It’s a “future me” gift.

5) The Community Support Effect

In many communities, the difference between “I’m trying” and “this is working” is support. That might mean a lifestyle program where people
share grocery tips that fit a tight budget, a clinic that offers diabetes education in your preferred language, or a walking group that turns
movement into something social (and therefore easier to keep doing). The quiet truth is that willpower is overrated and infrastructure is underrated.
When healthy choices become easier choices, people don’t need superhero energythey just need a system that doesn’t fight them.

Bottom Line: Know Your Numbers, Know Your Options

Diabetes is common, serious, and expensivebut it’s also measurable and manageable. The most powerful move isn’t fear; it’s information.
If you’re an adult with risk factors, ask about screening. If you’ve had gestational diabetes, follow up. If you have diabetes, you deserve
care that fits your lifenot a plan designed for a fictional person who meal-preps 21 identical lunches in glass containers.

Knowing where you stand (normal, prediabetes, diabetes) is not a labelit’s a map. And a map is how you choose the next right turn.