National Diabetes Awareness Month

“There are 29.1 million people in the United States, or 9.3% of the population, who have diabetes. While an estimated 21 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 8.1 million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease,” according to the Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease. November is National Diabetes Awareness Month and a few students on campus were determined to spread the word. There was an information table set up by the ALEF organization in the student center on Thursday, November 12, to help educate the students about the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or JDRF. Students were encouraged to make a donation, sign their name on a sneaker, and tape the sneaker to the wall for all to see; the sneakers were available in four different colors – red, blue, yellow and green.  

Jdrf.org defines diabetes as “the name given to disorders in which the body has trouble regulating its blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels. There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which a person’s body still produces insulin but is unable to use it effectively.” The amount of people who have diabetes has risen in the past few years and continues to rise in the United States each year. An anonymous source spoke about their mother’s struggle with the disease: “She’s been diabetic ever since I can remember and she’s always been a little heavier than she should be – so that never helped. But she gets a long pretty well. I think more people need to know that diabetes is manageable. It’s not a death sentence.”  

Some may question why knowing about diabetes is relevant to those living in West Virginia. Unfortunately, the issue is exponentially relevant. To put the problem into perspective, The Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease also states that “Diabetes has escalated to epidemic proportions in West Virginia, where approximately 12% of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes by a health care professional. West Virginians have also experienced higher prevalence of co-morbid conditions such as obesity, physical inactivity, hypertension and hyperlipidemia.” While this is a statistic about adults, diabetes also affects many children – more and more every year. In fact, and according to the National Diabetes Education Program or NDEP, “Diabetes is one of the most common diseases in school-aged children. About 208,000 young people in the US under age 20 had diabetes in 2012. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are increasing in U.S. children and adolescents.” 

While diabetes is typically inherited, knowing the symptoms of diabetes can help those at risk keep from developing the disease. The Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease provides a list of symptoms of diabetes. Some of these signs include “being very thirsty, urinating often, feeling very hungry, feeling very tired, losing weight without trying, having cuts or sores that heal slowly, having dry, itchy skin, loss of feeling or tingling in the feet or toes and having blurry vision.”  

For more information about juvenile diabetes or diabetes in general, visit jdfr.org. The website accepts donations all the time and encourages everyone to join a JDRF group near you; go to events and help raise money for a good cause!