November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. It’s a month to bring awareness to a disease that affects millions of people. To show your support, you can get a free diabetes awareness wristband. Just head over and enter your zip code, take a survey, and complete your profile for this freebie.

Now some facts and statistics that you may not know about diabetes…

• Diabetes is a metabolic disease in which the body’s inability to produce any or enough insulin causes elevated levels of glucose in the blood.
• Roughly a third of people with the disease don’t even realize they have it.
• Almost 30 million Americans have diabetes. That’s about one in 11 people.
• Type 1 diabetes usually starts in childhood and accounts for 5% to 10% of people who have diabetes.
• People with Type 1 diabetes do not produce enough insulin in their bodies.
• Type 2 diabetes can develop at any age, but it most commonly becomes apparent in adulthood.
• People with Type 2 diabetes are unable to effectively use the insulin their bodies produce.
• Incidents of Type 2 diabetes in children is on the rise.
• Over 85 million Americans are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
• Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness in working-age adults and a leading cause of kidney failure.
• Cost of healthcare is twice as high for people with diabetes, and this disease accounts for over 10% of the world’s total healthcare expenses.
• Diabetes increases the risk of other medical problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.
• Approximately 60% of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations in adults are performed on people with diabetes.
• The majority of lower-limb amputations due to diabetes are preventable.
• Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States.
• Actual deaths from diabetes are possibly higher, due to the cause of deaths being recorded as things like kidney failure or heart disease, which are diabetes related.
• The risk of developing Type 2 diabetes can be lowered by making healthy lifestyle changes, such as eating healthy, increasing physical activity, and losing weight.