Speaking of Diabetes

In my last posting I wrote:

"That's why it's often tough to get mami or papi or better yet abuela
to see the doctor with frequency or to take preventative measures to
control ailments that affect us disproportionately like diabetes. "

Now comes word in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution of the 14.3% increase in diabetes since 2003 -- diabetes now affects 7 of the population. -- with rates for Hispanics about twice as high as Anglos.

This comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and their newly released National Diabetes Fact Sheet 2005. In it, the CDC estimates that 1 out of every 3 Americans born in 2000 will develop the disease, including 2 out of every 5 African-Americans and 1 out of every 2 Hispanic females born that year.

A concerted effort (and effective communication strategies and messages) is needed to ensure this doesn't occur ... because of the cost to human life and because we all end up paying mucho dinero for it in the end.