If left untreated, diabetes can lead to serious and sometimes permanent effects on many parts of your body. It can lead to heart and kidney disease, amputations, blindness and other health problems. Almost 17 million people in the United States suffer from diabetes, and millions more do not know they have it.

• Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death by disease in the U.S., and has no cure.
• Nearly 21 million American adults and children have diabetes, and another 54 million are at risk.
• One out of every three Americans born in 2000 will develop diabetes if current trends don’t change.