One out of every eight adults in Bexar County has been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. That’s according to the city’s health department. Metro Health’s new data shows cases of Diabetes and obesity growing in Bexar County.
Diabetes is a silent and deadly disease. It can lead to kidney failure, amputations and blindness. In 2014, 14-percent of Bexar County adults had diabetes. That’s higher than the national average of 9 percent and the Texas average of 10 percent. In 2012, Diabetes was affecting 11 percent of adults in Bexar County. The data released by San Antonio Metro Health Wednesday also shows 71 percent of Bexar County adults are overweight or obese.
Cathy Shields, the chronic disease prevention manager at Metro Health warns of grave consequences of the trend continues. You’ll see more and more children that are obese,” she said. “You’ll see people living shorter lifespans and children developing chronic diseases at much earlier rate than right now. Developing diabetes later in life, maybe in your 30s or 40s, will start to happen much, much, earlier, maybe in the late teens and 20s.”
And here’s another sobering outcome, and a reason for taking action: The number of diabetic amputations each year in Bexar County is now at 1900.