Mississippi has a diabetes epidemic

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – As Diabetes Awareness Month quickly comes to a close, the American Diabetes Association said Mississippi will continue to face its diabetes epidemic. 

According to the ADA, the auto-immune disease impacts over half of all of Mississippi’s adults. More than 326,000 people, or 14.4% of the adult population, have been diagnosed with diabetes. An additional 75,000 Mississippians are unaware that they have diabetes. About 814,000 people, 35.6% of the adult population, have prediabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that number is 98,000,000 adults nationally. 

Every year, an estimated 20,433 people in Mississippi are diagnosed with diabetes. They will have medical expenses approximately 2.3 times higher than those who do not have the disease. 

The state also incurs an economic burden as well from diabetes. According to the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH), it is $10,400 for each Mississippian diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes-related charges to the state’s Medicaid program alone are nearly $1 billion each year. According to the CDC, the total cost of care for people with the diagnosed disease was $413 billion in 2022. About one in four healthcare dollars nationally is spent on people with diagnosed diabetes.

The cost of diabetes is more than financial, however. Diabetes accounted for 1,083 deaths in Mississippi in 2016. Many more Mississippians live with the complications of type 2 diabetes, including lower extremity amputations, end-stage kidney disease, blindness, loss of protective sensation, heart disease and premature death.

According to MSDH, diabetes is an incurable disease that affects the way the body uses food. People develop type 2 diabetes because the cells in the muscles, liver, and fat do not use insulin properly. As a result, the amount of sugar in the blood increases, while the cells are starved of energy. Over time, high blood sugar damages nerves and blood vessels, leading to complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, nerve problems, gum infections, and amputation.

Health officials assert that you may be at higher risk than others for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes if

• You are overweight or obese. 
• You are 45 years of age or older.
• Your parent or sibling has type 2 diabetes.
• You are physically active fewer than three times per week.
• You ever gave birth to a baby that weighed more than nine pounds.
• You ever had diabetes while pregnant (gestational diabetes).
• Your family background is African American, American Indian, Asian American, Pacific Islander, or Hispanic American/Latino.
• You have high blood pressure (140/90 or higher), or you have been told by a doctor that you have high blood pressure.
• Your HDL cholesterol (“good” cholesterol) is 35 or lower, or your triglyceride level is 250 or higher.

Below are steps that MSDH recommends that people take to help reduce their risk of getting diabetes.

Step 1: Lose Weight

1. Reduce your body weight
   • The National Diabetes Prevention Program found that people who lost between 5 and 7 percent of their body weight significantly reduced their risk of type 2 diabetes. Set a reasonable weight-loss goal, such as losing one pound a week. Aim for a long-term goal of losing five to seven percent of your total body weight.
2. Increase your physical activity
   • Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week.
3. Plan for change
   • Making big changes in your life is hard, especially if you are faced with many changes at once. You can make it easier by taking these steps.
     • Think about what might prevent you from reaching your goals.
     • Find family and friends who will support and encourage you.
     • Get your doctor, a dietitian, or a counselor to help you make a plan.

Step 2: Make wise food choices

1. Choose sensible foods
   • Keep desserts, snack foods and treats to a minimum. Fast food is usually a poor choice for weight loss.
2. Monitor serving sizes
   • Reduce serving sizes of main courses, desserts, and foods high in sugar or fat. Increase the amount of fruits and vegetables.
3. Limit fat intake
   • Cheese, fried foods and fast foods are all higher-fat foods to avoid. Fat should make up about 25 percent of your total calories (no more than about 50 grams of fat a day). Your doctor or dietitian can help you figure out how much fat to have. You can check food labels for fat content, too.
4. Limit calories
   • Your doctor or dietitian can help you with a meal plan that emphasizes weight loss.
5. Keep a food and exercise log
   • Write down what you eat, how much you exercise — anything that helps keep you on track.

Step 3: Be physically active daily

1. Exercise regularly
   • Regular exercise helps you lose weight, keeps your cholesterol and blood pressure under control, and helps lower your blood sugar. Moderate activity such as brisk walking for 30 minutes daily reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes and improves your overall health.
2. Increase exercise gradually
   • If you are not very active, you should start slowly, talking with your doctor first about what kinds of exercise would be safe for you. Make a plan to increase your daily activity, with the goal of being active at least 30 minutes a day most days of the week.
3. Walk more
   • Walking is one of the best ways to work extra activity into your daily routine.
     • Take the stairs rather than an elevator or escalator.
     • Park at the far end of the lot and walk.
     • Get off the bus a few stops early and walk the rest of the way.
     • Walk or bicycle instead of driving whenever you can.