Like Tom Hanks, millions of people have type 2 diabetes

Nanci Hellmich | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Tom Hanks announces he has diabetes Actor Tom Hanks announced on Late Show with David Letterman that he has type 2 diabetes. Hanks said he has been struggling with high blood sugar for years. (Oct. 9)

Sherri Shepherd%2C Halle Berry%2C Paula Deen have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes

Diabetes may lead to heart disease%2C stroke%2C kidney failure%2C amputations%2C blindness

Symptoms can include thirst%2C hunger%2C tiredness%2C blurry vision%2C healing problems

Tom Hanks' disclosure that he has type 2 diabetes spotlights one of this country's most troubling health dilemmas: a national diabetes epidemic.

Hanks, 57, revealed that he has type 2 diabetes on Monday night's Late Show with David Letterman. He says he has been battling high blood sugar numbers since he was 36. Other stars, including Sherri Shepherd, Halle Berry, Paula Deen, Patti LaBelle and Drew Carey, also have been diagnosed with the disease.

"There's no question that the growth of diabetes both in the United States and around the world is at epidemic proportions," says Robert Ratner, the chief scientific and medical officer for the American Diabetes Association. He's an endocrinologist and diabetologist.

Although Ratner doesn't know Hanks' case, he says type 2 diabetes tends to run in families.

The current environment that promotes a sedentary lifestyle and is rich in calorie-dense foods "has truly conspired against us when it comes to diabetes," he says.

"The big driver of type 2 diabetes is weight gain," says obesity researcher Donna Ryan, professor emeritus of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

In diabetes the body does not make enough of the hormone insulin, or it doesn't use it properly. Insulin helps glucose (sugar) get into cells, where it is used for energy. If there's an insulin problem, sugar builds up in the blood, damaging nerves and blood vessels. There are two major forms: type 1 and type 2, the latter accounting for 90% to 95% of diabetes cases.

Almost 26 million children and adults (8.3% of the U.S. population) in the USA have diabetes, and about 79 million Americans have pre-diabetes and are at risk for developing the disease, government statistics show. One in three Americans may develop diabetes by 2050 if something isn't done to reverse the trend, government statistics suggest.

People who are obese, older or have a family history of diabetes, as well as African Americans, Mexican Americans and American Indians, are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Diabetes may lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, foot and leg amputations, and blindness.

"The simple fact is our health care system and our economy are being overwhelmed by diabetes," Ratner says. "When we look at the number of individuals and the cost of their care, we see it's not a sustainable situation."

In 2012, the cost of diabetes totaled $245 billion in the U.S. alone, he says. "In 2007, the cost was $174 billion, so in only five years, there has been a 43% increase in the cost of caring for diabetes. The increased cost is driven by the epidemic numbers of people with the disease."

The number of people with prediabetes is "overwhelming," Ratner says, "but we can identify these individuals, and we can intervene to delay or prevent them from developing the disease." He points to the National Diabetes Prevention Program (cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention) which shows that an intensive lifestyle intervention (weight loss of 5%-7%, regular physical activity, healthier diet) can reduce the risk of developing diabetes.

Adds Ryan: "You don't have to get to an ideal weight to reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. You just have to get to a healthier weight, which may be a loss of about 12 to 20 pounds."

Physical activity is important because it improves the body's ability to utilize insulin, so a regular exercise program makes a person more insulin sensitive -- their body responds to the insulin they make more effectively, Ratner says.

There is no single diet that is recommended to people with diabetes, he says. People are usually advised to decrease their calorie intake to get their weight under control, minimize their intake of calorie-dense saturated (animal) fats and to monitor carbohydrates -- eating complex carbohydrates (vegetables and other fiber-rich foods) instead of simple carbohydrates (sugar, candy, cake, cookies), he says.

Some facts about diabetes:

• Almost 26 million children and adults (8.3% of the U.S. population) in the USA have diabetes.

• 18.8 million people are diagnosed; an additional 7 million are undiagnosed.

• Symptoms of the disease can include thirst, hunger, tiredness, blurry vision, healing problems and frequent urination. However, not all people with diabetes have symptoms.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention