No, this post isn't referring to the percentage of people with dusty gym equipment yawning in their basements -- I suspect that number is a bit higher. According to newly released statistics, around eight percent of Americans have diabetes. Eight percent. Coming from a strong family history of type 1 diabetes (both my brothers and parents), this statistic depresses me. Even worse, nearly one in four of the 60 years and older group had diabetes in 2007.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the new diabetes stats yesterday, based on 2007 data. About 24 million Americans now have diabetes, three million more people than in 2005. Possibly another 57 million are walking around with suspect blood sugars, called prediabetes, which means they're at increased risk for the disease down the line.

The good news? People unaware of their diabetes fell from 30 percent to 25 percent. That is a positive -- walking around with high blood sugars too long can cause serious complications. The CDC further reported that diabetes rates were highest among American Indians and Alaska Natives (16.5 percent), followed by blacks, Hispanics, Mexican Americans, Cubans, Asian Americans and whites. Stay fit, eat healthy and next time you see a 5K race to support diabetes research, sign-up and raise some cash for an important cause that impacts eight percent of the nation.

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Arthritis impacts 27 percent of the general population, but people with diabetes are even more at risk. Fifty-two percent of diabetics have arthritis -- about twice the rate of the general population.

Using approximately 800,000 phone surveys collected between 2005-2007, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report the evidence does not suggest diabetes and arthritis are causal of one another, but both conditions do share key risk factors such as obesity. Surprisingly, both young and old diabetics were just as likely to have high rates of arthritis. While exercise can help regulate blood glucose levels in diabetics and relieve arthritic joint pain, CDC researchers learned about 30 percent of adults with diabetes and arthritis are inactive -- a real conundrum. This is significantly higher than those inactive with a single condition -- 21 percent of people with diabetes alone and 17 percent of people with solely arthritis.

As a fan of everything fitness, and as a sister and daughter of two brothers and both parents with type 1 diabetes, this new study is concerning. Arthritis can prove a major barrier to regular exercise. However it's not all bad news -- there are specific exercise programs/protocols designed to benefit people with arthritis. A couple years ago I wrote a non-profit grant application highlighting spectacular participant results thanks to an arthritis swim program at a local YMCA in my area. Stay tuned for a more comprehensive report on the general exercise philosophy for arthritis sufferers in a future post. Here's a link to order an informative Arthritis and Diabetes publication (pictured) available through the Arthritis Foundation.

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When we hear about people dying from vaccine-preventable diseases, we tend to associate such loss with poorer countries than our own. This assumption is not terribly off-base, as many third-world nations do suffer an enormous amount of preventable human loss due to a lack of access to proper medical treatment. However, such vaccine-preventable loss is not exclusive to these less fortunate countries; an article in Women's Health magazine asserts that 50,000 adult Americans die each year for the same reason.

According to the article, the following is a list of five of the eleven vaccinations that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests getting:

1) Hepatitis A: A virus spread by infected food and water that can cause liver infection. Most often a danger to travelers to foreign countries.

2) HPV: The Human Papillomavirus is a sexually transmitted disease that can potentially lead to cervical cancer in women. Genital HPV is the most common sexual transmitted infection in the United States. About 6.2 million Americans will get infected with genital HPV this year.

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All I've been hearing the last few years is "obesity rates are rising." Wherever you turn, there is news about America's weight problem, obesity's connection with poor nutrition and lack of exercise, and the frightening fact obesity is infiltrating the youngest generation. Well, now there's more promising news.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported yesterday U.S. adult obesity rates appeared to have leveled off. Nearly 33 percent of adult men and 35 percent of women were obese in 2005-2006, compared to 31 percent and 33 percent reported in a 2003-2004 survey. The slight increase is not statistically significant to be considered a "rise" in obesity. The CDC also reported obesity was most common in adults aged 40 to 59. Female obesity rates for this age category measured 39 percent in white women, 51 percent in Mexican-American women and 51 percent in black women. Interestingly, no racial or ethnic differences were noted for male obesity rates.

The adult obesity rate was 15 percent in 1980 -- we're over double that today. This is hardly cause for relief or celebration. But it is nice to know there was not a statistically significant rise between the most recent surveys. We have to brake this obesity train first before we can head in the other direction. While plateaus have occurred in past surveys, wouldn't it be nice if 2005-2006 turned out to be the last stop?

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