Chances are, you answered incorrectly. It is diabetes –– currently the fifth-leading cause of death in the U.S.
The death rate for diabetes has increased by 45 percent since 1987 while death rates for cancer, heart disease and stroke have all declined.
Diabetes is a contributing cause of other deadly diseases and complications, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, kidney disease, blindness, amputations and sexual dysfunction.
Diabetes has reached epidemic levels. The National Institute of Health estimated 1.6 million new diagnosed cases of diabetes in 2007.
The American Diabetes Association projects that one in three children born since 2000 will have diabetes by the time they reach adulthood.
Every day more than 320,000 of us in the metropolitan area step out to fight diabetes.
We live with it, and we either die with it or from it. But if we fight hard and smart, we can and do live well with the disease.
Those of us affected by diabetes have diverse faces.
Some are children born with an inability to produce insulin. Some are seniors who have developed diabetes late in life. Some are the obese whose poor lifestyle choices have overwhelmed their bodies’ abilities to produce enough insulin.
Others, like me, have fit bodies and vigorous lives that give lie to the disease within.
Our daily fight is one each of us usually fights alone. But on Saturday, Sept. 27, we fight together as a community at the annual American Diabetes Association’s “Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes.”
It is a day we ask the larger community to come out and join our fight. The walk is the largest fundraising event for the American Diabetes Association, supporting research, education and treatment.
This year’s walk follows a scenic three-mile route through the Plaza along Brush Creek.
The walk includes a Health & Wellness Festival where participants may learn more about how those with diabetes can lead healthy and vibrant lifestyles.
Please join us. Do it because you or someone you know is affected. Do it because you have the desire and ability to make a difference in others’ lives.
Step out and join our fight Saturday, Sept. 27, in Theis Park near the Plaza. Sign up or learn more about diabetes at www.diabetes.org/stepout or call the American Diabetes Association of Greater Kansas City at 913-383-8210.
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