These two data maps show the increasing occurrence of Type-2 diabetes in the United States by geography. The top map is 2004 data, the bottom is 2008. They go along with this post from The Society Pages blog, which, in turn, links to this Slate post that uses them in an animation to show the increase in cases over that four-year period. The Society Pages post also links to the original CDC webpage, which has more interactive maps and information.
According to a new report by the insurance company UnitedHealth Group, HALF of the entire population of the United States will be diabetic or pre-diabetic by 2020. Part of that staggering explosion in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes comes from a recalculation of the blood glucose level at which people are considered to be diabetic: the previous standard was a level of 140 mg/dl, but a result of 124 mg/dl is now considered the threshold for being “pre-diabetic”.
In related news, the 7-11 Double Gulp gives you twice as much liquid as the human stomach can hold for $1.79. And in case you missed this story: in the U.K. McDonalds and Pepsi have been put in charge of developing the nation’s new policies on diet and obesity
