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To declare November as National Diabetes Month in the City of Columbus and to express support for the National Diabetes Association’s 2018 theme and effort to raise awareness by Promoting Health after Gestational Diabetes.
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WHEREAS, approximately every 23 seconds, someone in the United States is diagnosed with diabetes; and
WHEREAS, diabetes is a chronic illness that can lead to serious complications, such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and amputation; and
WHEREAS, nearly 30 million Americans have diabetes, including more than 1.3 million in Ohio - in fact an estimated 86 million adults have pre-diabetes, a condition that places them at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease; and
WHEREAS, the 2018 American Diabetes Association Month Theme, “Promoting Health after Gestational Diabetes is focused on promoting health after gestational diabetes - Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy: Mothers who’ve had gestational diabetes need to know that they and their children have an increased lifelong risk of developing type 2 diabetes - while gestational diabetes generally goes away after a baby is born, it should be noted that these individuals have a greater risk of diabetes and these children have an increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, in fact, half of all women who had gestational diabetes later develop type 2 diabetes; and
WHEREAS, the Central Ohio Diabetes Association reports that in Central Ohio, more than 200,000 people have diabetes, there are 13,000 new cases every two years, half of all diabetics are undiagnosed, and one in ten people will develop diabetes in their lifetime, with the CDC projecting that number to rise to one in three in the next twenty years if changes aren’t made; and
WHEREAS, diabetes affects people from all walks of life, and it takes a particular toll on disadvantaged and minority communities; for instance, Columbus Public Health's Office of Assessment & Surveillance reports that in Franklin County, African-Americans are 2.6 times more likely than whites to die of diabetes; and
WHEREAS, National Diabetes Month is designed to build awareness regarding a disease that affects millions of Americans and their loves ones, the National Institutes of Health urges people to take action and make simple but important lifestyle changes to achieve their health goals, whether they have diabetes or are at risk for the disease, now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That this Council does hereby declare November as National Diabetes Month in the City of Columbus and express its support for the Central Ohio Diabetes Association’s efforts to raise awareness for the 200,000 Central Ohioans and millions of Americans living with diabetes.