$120M going to research to stop the spread of diabetes
Members of Congress plotted a campaign against diabetes yesterday, introducing legislation that would allot $120 million to research and projects in the upcoming year to discover possible ways to prevent the spread of the disease and its complications.
“We know that diabetes can either be prevented or effectively managed through proper diet and exercise in many cases,” said Rep. Vito Fossella (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn), who co-sponsored the legislation along with Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-New York) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-New York).
Diabetes is a disease marked by the body’s inability to digest glucose. The rate of Type 2 diabetes — which is believed to be caused by a genetic predisposition for the disease mixed with obesity, lack of exercise and other lifestyle choices — has dramatically spiked throughout the nation.
An estimated 60 million or more Americans are living with diabetes or at risk of developing the disease. On Staten Island, an estimated 12.5 percent of all residents have the disease, according to a recent city Health Department study.
Currently, money flows more easily toward treating complications from diabetes — such as amputations and dialysis — than it does toward weight-loss, nutrition education and other preventive and maintenance programs, Sen. Clinton said.
The legislation proposed yesterday would provide $90 million to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Diabetes Translation for diabetes su?veillance, research and educational activities. It would also allot $30 million for three four-year projects that would examine how best to translate diet and exercise interventions into effective clinical practice.
“Diabetes and obesity prevalence are increasing at alarming rates,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the city’s health commissioner. “It is essential that the federal government begin to give a higher priority to prevention and lifestyle modification programs.”
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