1. If you live in the US, there’s a good chance you know someone diabetic. A full 24 million of the adults aged 20 (8% of the population) are diabetic, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

2. Once you become a diabetic, your life revolves around careful meal planning, blood sugar measurements, and insulin injections several times a day.

3. Sadly, 1.6 million new cases of diabetes are added to the count each year, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

4. That’s because 57 million people have prediabetes, where blood sugar levels are high, but not as high as in diabetes. In many cases, a prediabetic still has a chance to turnaround and avoid the full blown disease. For many people, this requires a substantial change in lifestyle. It includes daily physical activity and a more balanced healthy diet, leading to a reduction in body weight.

5. Diabetes is the #7 cause of death in the United States.

6. The total cost of diabetes per year in the US is $174 Billion. Diabetes is costly for individuals, who have to spend up to 10% of their income for treatment.

7. Diabetes is a world wide epidemic. In 1985 only 30 million people around the globe suffered, but a decade later that number ballooned to 135 million. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that by 2030 over 360 million people will be afflicted with diabetes.

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