By Denise Reynolds RD for eMaxHealth.com

New data has been released by Public Health Management Corporation’s (PHMC) Community Health Data Base about the prevalence of diabetes and risk factors among a certain group of adults located in Southeastern Pennsylvania. However, it is likely that the correlations drawn from this survey apply to most areas of the country. Type 2 diabetes prevalence is rising, and there is so much we can do as individuals to prevent the disease.

Diabetes, a condition of chronic high blood sugar, affects approximately 26 million Americans, or 8.3% of the population. Around the world, the disease is responsible for 4.6 million deaths every year – or about one every seven seconds. There have been predictions that by the year 2025, diabetes will affect 53.1 million Americans, unless we decide to begin making changes now.