As our world develops more and more, we create new inventions designed to improve and advance the way we live. However, sometimes we are confronted with products that affect our lives for the worse. One such drawback is the popularity of unhealthy fast food. This fattening food is the main cause for the recent onset of obesity. The rate of obesity in the United States has had “an increase of 40% in just ten years,” as Diabetic Care Services states. Along with other new technology, like transport, Americans are doing less and less physical activity, deciding to live a sedentary life. As the rate of obesity increases, so does the rate of diabetes.

What exactly is diabetes? There are two kinds of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes is when the immune system “destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas,” according to WebMd. It occurs in children and requires them to make sure their glucose levels are normal for their whole life. For type 2 diabetes, bodies still produce insulin, but it is either not enough or it cannot be used well enough.

“Diabetes does not kill people,” claims Sue, a woman who has type 2, “It’s the complications of this disease that kills.” Sue is a rancher that raises llamas, cattle, and sheep for a living. She’s had a variety of jobs, from running a bakery to raising her children and grandchildren. One day, she discovered that her glucose level was at 385, at least 200 milligrams per deciliter higher than average. She has made drastic changes to her diet and exercise plan to help lower her blood sugar levels. “I cannot ever have bananas, carrots, peas, frijoles… If I eat [those] foods, my sugar level goes above my target of 150, and I need more insulin than what is available,” Sue explains.

This insulin defect doesn’t allow glucose to travel through the body normally. It will build up and make glucose levels in the bloodstream dangerous enough to lead to heart disease and kidney failure. With the growing popularity of unhealthy food, it is becoming more common for people to develop these problems that require much special attention.

One group of people that have a growing diabetes rate is children. Parents are becoming too busy to prepare a proper meal for their children, so they turn to the quick and cheap means of processed food. As a result, the percentage of diabetes has skyrocketed in an incredibly short amount of time. Between 2001 and 2009, the rate of type 1 had increased 21% and the rate of type 2 had risen by 30%. A study from March 2013 found that 215,000 people under the age of 20 have either type 1 or type 2. This is 0.26% of people in this age group, meaning that 1 in 400 people younger than 20 have diabetes. Every year, 15,600 youths are diagnosed with type 1, while 3,600 are told they have type 2. Dr. Robin S. Goland from Columbia University Medical Center in New York says, “In my career, type 1 diabetes was a rare disease in children, and type 2 disease didn’t exist. And I’m not that old.”

According to the American Diabetes Association, a total of 25.8 million children and adults have diabetes in the United States. That’s 8.3% of the population. An even larger number of people, 79 million, have prediabetes, “a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but are not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes.”

Although these statistics may make it seem like everyone will develop diabetes someday, there are ways to reduce the risk and prevent it. Since obesity can lead to diabetes, one obvious solution is increasing physical activity. Physical activity helps reduce blood pressure and blood sugar. Weight loss can reduce the risk of diabetes. Also, eating fewer carbohydrates is important for reducing the possibility of diabetes since carbohydrates raise blood sugar.

Diabetes is a growing problem, but if people are determined enough, they can manage to not allow the disease to ruin their lives. Lately, companies have been trying to promote healthier alternatives to the injurious lifestyles we have been living. Maybe one day, diabetes will not be as big of a problem and everyone can experience lives full of health and no worries.