More than half of Americans will have diabetes or be prediabetic by 2020 at a cost to the U.S. health care system of $3.35 trillion if current trends go unabated, according to a report released by UnitedHealth Group Inc.
Diabetes and prediabetes will account for an estimated 10 percent of total health care spending by the end of the decade, according to the report titled “The United States of Diabetes: Challenges and Opportunities in the Decade Ahead.”
Diabetes is one of the fastest-growing diseases in the United States and currently affects about 26 million Americans. Another 67 million Americans are estimated to have prediabetes, of which 60 million are unaware that they have the condition.æ
The report also focuses on the growing obesity epidemic as that condition is a leading cause of diabetes.
Researchers note that there are multiple opportunities to intervene early on and prevent this devastating disease before it’s too late. So again, a lot of this comes down to our own lifestyle and taking care of ourselves.
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