VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — An epidemic is the widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community. That is what diabetes has become—it affects more than 38 million people in this country.
Jen Lewis wanted to know why that is and find out how diabetes is impacting our area.
According to ODU’s annual Life in Hampton Roads survey, diabetes is one of the most selected health challenges facing our region, with more than 700,000 people diagnosed.
Dr. Bonner is a local doctor of internal medicine who specializes in diabetes. Jen went to see him to ask why diabetes is so incredibly rampant.
"More and more people, including children and teenagers, are becoming overweight and obese," he said. "This is the primary factor driving the diabetes epidemic."
Dr. Bonner also blames a sedentary lifestyle on the increasing number of type 2 diabetes diagnoses, which can be brought on by genetics or lifestyle, or both.
Dr. Bonner says proper diet and exercise can turn things around.
"We’re talking about making major lifestyle changes that are permanent so that the diabetes can potentially be put in remission, and that’s the good news about diabetes," he said.
Oftentimes, however, diabetes symptoms go unnoticed or ignored, resulting in a possible life-threatening situation. Cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and complications with eyes, feet and skin are just some of the symptoms that can arise when diabetes is not taken care of.
What’s scary is right now, more than 7 million adults are walking around with diabetes and they don’t even know it, according to the CDC. So, screening is the key.
"Everyone at risk should be screened," Dr. Bonner advised. "If there is a family history, individuals should be screened. Individuals who are overweight should be screened. And as we age, we should be screened periodically for diabetes."
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Screening can be done at your primary care doctor’s office. Eastern Virginia Medical School holds free community screenings in partnership with the American Diabetes Association and the ADA has an online risk test that can be used as a primary screening tool. You can find it here.
These tests typically identify type 2 diabetes. A smaller percentage of the population, 5% to 10%, has type 1, the CDC says.
Matt Diggs, who lives in Portsmouth, has been living with diabetes for 20 years. He was diagnosed with type 1 when he was 14 years old.
Type 1 is an autoimmune disease and those with it have to have insulin to live. Matt also monitors his diet and sugar levels and regularly shares his story with others.
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"I just wanted to be an inspiration to younger kids that were diagnosed with diabetes," he told Jen. "I just try to show them that they can still live a fulfilled life with the disease."
Matt is also an avid cyclist who has been riding in the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure for 10 years. His team, The Justice League, is inspirational too.
"The Justice League started because we wanted to be this superhero group that came in and rode in the tour. And when we first started doing it, we were wearing costumes," he said. "It was just a fun thing to do."
They’ll be riding together again this weekend in the Tour de Cure.
Tour de Cure is this Saturday, April 27, at Windsor Castle Park in Smithfield. Participants can cycle 10 miles, 30 miles or 100 miles, and all funds raised go to the American Diabetes Association’s efforts of advocacy, education and research. To register, click here.
