while the number is rising rapidly — 85% of them will develop diabetes.
Adult Onset Diabetes is the fastest growing childhood disease in America.
The rest of the world is rushing to catch up. For the first time in history, more people worldwide will die of obesity, and related diseases, than hunger or malnutrition.
And it just gets worse:
• Obese adults make just 60% of the income of those with normal weight
• After 7 to 12 years of diabetes, most are on kidney dialysis (notice all the new places for this in the strip malls?)
• 80% of all limb and appendage amputations are of diabetics
• Diabetic men are much more likely to be impotent
• Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness
• Heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity dramatically shortens the lives of all those affected
For the first time in history, we are facing the first generation of parents who will see their children die of chronic diseases before they do. (CDC and World Health Organization, 2003.)
This is the tragic collapse of everything parenthood has ever stood for. As a nation, as a world, as parents and grandparents, we are losing an entire generation. Where will our world be without them? What will our nation be like without children growing to find and live out their dreams?
These children will have dreams, to be sure. They will be grand, and glorious, and beautiful dreams. But they will be stopped short. Their hopes will be shattered. As they ascend into their 20s and 30s, this generation will increasingly be called upon to manage the ravages of