Penn State Hershey Diabetes Institute

Community Outreach Overview

Diabetes has staggering public health implications, both in terms of health consequences and economic costs. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, amputations, cardiovascular disease and stroke. There are 23.6 million children and adults in the United States, or 7.8% of the population, who have diabetes.    Nearly 10% of adult residents of Pennsylvania report that they have been told that they have diabetes. Pennsylvania is sixth in the nation in terms of people with diabetes and pre-diabetes. The dollar costs of diabetes are also incredible.  Diabetes and related complications account for one of every seven healthcare dollars spent.

Related to diabetes is obesity, a growing problem throughout the United States and particularly in Pennsylvania.   A survey of Pennsylvanians in 2007 showed that nearly two-thirds of all adults surveyed reported that they were either overweight or obese. Obesity may be defined as being 20% or more over your healthy body weight, or more precisely a having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 and above (A BMI of 30 is about 30 pounds overweight.). Obesity is related to diabetes, as many individuals struggling with weight management issues also are affected with diabetes or pre-diabetes (insulin insufficiency). Moreover, weight loss can be associated with substantial improvements in a person’s diabetes and overall well-being.