Diabetes as a Public Health Issue: Healthy People 2030
This paper examines diabetes as a critical public health issue in the United States, exploring its definition, types, and physiological effects alongside Healthy People 2030 objectives aimed at reducing its prevalence. Drawing on CDC data, WHO guidelines, and peer-reviewed research, the paper describes the epidemiology of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, their effects on quality of life, and recommended medical and behavioral interventions. It also reviews a CNN Health article examining the global surge in diabetes cases and the disease's complex interaction with COVID-19. The paper concludes by connecting research evidence to public health goals and highlighting the economic burden, health disparities, and ongoing need for community-based, person-centered prevention strategies.
- Introduction: Public health priority framing and paper purpose
- Description of the Health Condition: Diabetes definition, prevalence, and Healthy People 2030 objectives
- Characteristics, Effects, and Treatment: Types, bodily effects, and medical interventions for diabetes
- Article Summary: Diabetes and COVID-19: Global diabetes surge and COVID-19 complications
- Current Research on Diabetes: Epidemiology, quality of life, disparities, and prevention evidence
- Relevance to Public Health and Healthy People 2030: Mapping diabetes evidence to national public health objectives
- Conclusion: Why This Topic Matters: Economic burden, pandemic impact, and future priorities
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What makes this paper effective
- Integrates multiple authoritative sources — CDC, WHO, Healthy People 2030, and peer-reviewed journals — to build a well-supported, multi-dimensional picture of diabetes as a public health concern.
- Moves logically from clinical description to epidemiology to policy relevance, keeping the reader oriented at each stage.
- Grounds abstract health objectives in concrete data (e.g., $327.2 billion economic burden, 537 million people living with diabetes globally) that illustrate the scale of the problem.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of secondary source synthesis: rather than relying on a single study, it weaves together government health data, WHO fact sheets, and peer-reviewed research to build convergent evidence. This technique strengthens credibility by showing that multiple independent sources point to the same conclusions about prevention, treatment, and health disparities.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a public health framing, then defines and classifies the health condition before detailing its physiological effects and treatments. A focused article summary introduces a timely COVID-19 angle, followed by a research synthesis section covering epidemiology, quality of life, and disparities. The paper then maps its findings onto Healthy People 2030 objectives and closes with a personal rationale connecting economics, the pandemic, and vulnerable populations.
Introduction
Public health is one of the top priorities for any country and its economic planning, since healthy people contribute to economic strengthening more effectively. The greater the number of ill people, the more costs a government must incur for treatment and prevention. This paper explores a public health topic currently prominent in the media and relevant to Healthy People 2030 objectives, behaviors, and conditions — specifically, diabetes.
Description of the Health Condition
From the Healthy People 2030 objectives, the health condition selected for this paper is diabetes. Over 30 million people are affected by diabetes in the United States, making it the seventh leading cause of death (Healthy People 2030, n.d.). The number of diagnosed individuals is approximately 28.7 million, the majority of whom are adults (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022a).
Principally, diabetes is the body condition in which food is broken down into sugar and then released into the bloodstream (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021b). When the blood sugar level rises, it signals the pancreas to produce more insulin. When the body cannot produce sufficient insulin or when cells respond inadequately, blood sugar remains elevated and stops further processing, placing significant strain on the kidneys.
According to Healthy People 2030, the objectives for reducing the number of people suffering from diabetes show mixed progress: two objectives have demonstrated improved results, two showed little or no detectable change, nine met only their baseline targets, and two showed developmental progress toward meeting objectives in their respective areas (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022).
There are different types of diabetes, and most affect adults aged 45 years and older. Type 2 diabetes develops most frequently in this age group, affecting one in 10 Americans — roughly 90–95% of all diabetes cases. However, increasing numbers of children, teenagers, and young adults have recently been diagnosed with diabetes, which is a growing concern for the public health community (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021c).
Characteristics, Effects, and Treatment
Different types of diabetes involve distinct health conditions and epidemiological profiles. Type 1 diabetes is insulin-dependent; the body experiences a deficiency in insulin production, and individuals with this type require a daily dose of insulin to maintain stability (World Health Organization, 2021). Type 2 diabetes, which is non-insulin-dependent, results from the body's ineffective use of insulin. It is primarily associated with excessive body weight and low physical activity and accounts for approximately 95% of adult diabetes cases (World Health Organization, 2021).
The effects of diabetes on the body can be severe. Two-thirds of adults with diabetes are at risk of experiencing heart attacks, and strokes may also occur as reduced blood flow creates additional strain on the heart. Other effects include damage to foot nerves, neuropathy, risk of foot ulcers, and serious infections that may require amputation of the affected limb or body part (World Health Organization, 2021). In advanced stages of the disease, loss of eyesight — including long-term damage to the retina and its blood vessels — is another serious complication; blindness affects more than one million people with diabetes globally (World Health Organization, 2021). Kidney failure is also among the most prominent complications of diabetes.
Treatment of diabetes involves long-term dietary changes, daily physical activity, and reduced intake of sugar and glucose (World Health Organization, 2021). At least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per day is recommended. Tobacco cessation is also advised to prevent complications related to cardiovascular damage and diabetes mortality.
Medical interventions include daily insulin for type 1 diabetes patients; type 2 diabetes patients may be prescribed oral medications along with a certain amount of insulin (World Health Organization, 2021). Monitoring blood pressure regularly is also recommended. Foot care is especially important for people with diabetes and includes maintaining foot hygiene, wearing comfortable footwear, practicing patient self-management of foot conditions, and attending regular physician check-ups (World Health Organization, 2021).
Current Research on Diabetes
Research indicates that population growth, food abundance and scarcity across different regions, declining physical activity, and dietary changes have driven rising diabetes incidence over the past four decades (Trikkalinou, Papazafiropoulou, & Melidonis, 2017). Given current global prevalence trends, it is projected that 642 million adults worldwide will be affected by diabetes by 2040.
Diabetes significantly affects quality of life (QoL), defined as physical, mental, and social well-being — a concept not limited to the absence of disease (Trikkalinou, Papazafiropoulou, & Melidonis, 2017). The World Health Organization defines QoL as an individual's perception of their position in life within the context of culture and value systems, in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns. The impact of diabetes on QoL varies considerably by ethnicity, culture, beliefs, environment, gender, diet, lifestyle, and socioeconomic status.
The main symptoms of type 1 diabetes include fatigue, lack of energy, polyuria, polydipsia, extreme weight loss, slow wound healing, frequent infections, and impaired vision (Kharroubi & Darwish, 2015). Type 2 diabetes is commonly associated with hypertension, dyslipidemia, excessive weight gain, nephropathy, and effects on the kidneys, liver, and ovarian function. Diagnosis is largely based on blood glucose levels; a fasting plasma glucose level equal to or higher than 126 mg/dL indicates the presence of diabetes (Kharroubi & Darwish, 2015). Several diagnostic tests are used across different age groups, with HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) being the most widely recognized.
Long-term lifestyle and dietary changes are consistently recommended across global studies as the primary means of preventing diabetes (Uusitupa et al., 2019). Although genetic and environmental factors play significant roles, evidence from multiple geographic regions shows that lifestyle and dietary modifications can reduce the risk of diabetes for up to ten years.
Research has also established that diabetes is disproportionately prevalent among ethnic minorities and low-socioeconomic groups due to health disparities, complexity of care, and higher fatality rates (Stetson, Minges, & Richardson, 2017). Women with diabetes are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than men. Social determinants — including access to safe walking environments, opportunities for physical activity, and proximity to grocery stores offering nutritious food — play a critical role in shaping the severity of diabetes across diverse populations.
Conclusion: Why This Topic Matters
The economic burden that diabetes places on the United States is substantial. According to the American Diabetes Association, this burden was estimated at $327.2 billion in 2017. Diagnosed individuals account for 81% of the total diabetic population, at an average cost of $13,240 per person. The projected risk of continued expansion is far greater than current professional estimates acknowledge. The relationship between COVID-19 and diabetes has further complicated understanding of the disease and motivated researchers and clinicians to seek innovative approaches to address the challenge. Cost-effective strategies that incorporate technology will be essential to achieving the most impactful Healthy People 2030 objectives — particularly reducing insulin dependence — at pace.
With the pandemic continuing to pose risks, children and ethnic minority communities deserve focused attention to ensure prevention efforts reach them at scale. Further research examining the specific effects of COVID-19 on diabetes outcomes in children and ethnic minorities is needed, given that a measurable proportion of children have also been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The intersection of pandemic effects, economic disparities, and chronic disease management makes diabetes an especially pressing public health issue — one whose resolution is critical to the social and economic well-being of all age groups.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022a, January 18). National diabetes statistics report. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data/statistics-report/index.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021b, December 16). What is diabetes? https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/diabetes.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021c, December 16). Type 2 diabetes. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/type2.html
Healthy People 2030. (n.d.). Diabetes. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/diabetes
Kharroubi, A. T., & Darwish, H. M. (2015). Diabetes mellitus: The epidemic of the century. World Journal of Diabetes, 6(6), 850–867.
LaMotte, S. (2021, November 14). Diabetes is a 'pandemic of unprecedented magnitude,' and experts fear Covid-19 may make it worse. CNN Health. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/14/health/diabetes-skyrockets-covid-wellness/index.html
Seng, J. J. B., Monteiro, A. Y., Kwan, Y. H., Zainudin, S. B., Tan, C. S., Thumboo, J., & Low, L. L. (2021). Population segmentation of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and its clinical applications: A scoping review. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-021-01209-w
Sørensen, M., Groven, K. S., Gjelsvik, B., Almendingen, K., & Garnweidner-Holme, L. (2020). The roles of healthcare professionals in diabetes care: A qualitative study in Norwegian general practice. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, 38(1), 12–23.
Stetson, B., Minges, K. E., & Richardson, C. R. (2017). New directions for diabetes prevention and management in behavioral medicine. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 40(1), 127–144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-016-9802-2
Trikkalinou, A., Papazafiropoulou, A. K., & Melidonis, A. (2017). Type 2 diabetes and quality of life. World Journal of Diabetes, 8(4), 120–129.
Uusitupa, M., Khan, T. A., Viguiliouk, E., Kahleova, H., Rivellese, A. A., Hermansen, K., Pfeiffer, A., Thanopoulou, A., Salas-Salvadó, J., Schwab, U., & Sievenpiper, J. L. (2019). Prevention of type 2 diabetes by lifestyle changes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrients, 11(11), 2611.
World Health Organization. (2021, November 10). Diabetes. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes
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