NIDC welcomes you to our website and we invite you to become involved with NIDC in your quest for more information about diabetes and to participate in programs to help others who are at risk for diabetes or have diabetes.

General facts about Diabetes:

Nearly 21 million people in the United States have diabetes: of these, about 17 million are diagnosed and more than 6 million don’t know they have diabetes. Some 41 million individuals have prediabetes (a combination of risk factors and early changes in their blood sugar metabolism).

At present, data from Winnebago County reveals that 9.5% of the population has diabetes compared to 7.5% across the State of Illinois.

It is well documented that when a person is overweight, there is increased risk for type 2 diabetes. One third of children and adolescents in the United States are either obese or overweight! In the past 30 years the obesity rate for children ages 2-5 years has tripled, ages 6-11 years has quadrupled, and for youth ages 12-19 has tripled.

Prevalence of overweight in children in the U.S. between 1999 and 2004:

• 12% for ages 2-5
• 17% for ages 6-11
• 16% for ages 12-19

The prevalence of overweight children, ages 2-5 in Illinois has increased from 9.3% in 1976 to 14% in 2003.

For adults the risks of developing diabetes continue to worsen. Obesity, lack of exercise, inheritance, and aging significantly increase these risks.

The total prevalence of diabetes in people aged 20 years or older in the United States in 2002:

• 2.2% for ages 20-39
• 9.7% for ages 40-59
• 18.3% for ages 60 and older

As we absorb the impact this information has for us, our family members and in our communities we naturally will ask, “What should we do about diabetes?” NIDC has placed more diabetes information and many links to references on the following pages of this website. By becoming familiar with this information you will gain knowledge about diabetes care. By becoming a member of NIDC you will be joining others in addressing the challenges presented by diabetes in our communities.