The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes has increased in all US states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico between 1995 and 2010. The prevalence increased by 50% or more in 42 states and by 100% or more in 18 states. The states with the largest increases were Oklahoma, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama and Washington. According to the CDC press release, in 1995 only 3 states had diagnosed diabetes prevalence of 6% or more; by 2010, all 50 states had a prevalence over 6%.

The press release, (rather amazingly to my point of view) states, “Type 2 diabetes, which may be prevented through lifestyle changes, accounts for 90 percent to 95 percent of all diabetes cases in the United States. CDC and its partners are working on a variety of initiatives to prevent type 2 diabetes and to reduce complications in those already diagnosed. CDC leads the National Diabetes Prevention Program, a public-private partnership that brings evidence-based programs for preventing type 2 diabetes to communities. The program is helping to establish a network of lifestyle-change classes for overweight or obese people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.” Of course the evidence-based program they refer to are the Diabetes Prevention Program, which found lifestyle prevention was only effective in young retirees and the Look AHEAD trial, which was terminated prematurely because the lifestyle group had no better outcomes than the control group. Why does the CDC continue to hype bang-the- lifestyle-drum when they know it doesn’t work?