The Diabetes Project

WJTV, News Channel 12 presents "The Diabetes Project." The goal of this program is to to attack Mississippi’s diabetes problem.

Diabetes contributes to the deaths of over 2,200 Mississippians in 2005. Over 234,000 Mississippians were diagnosed with the disease in 2006. There are two types of diabetes. 95% of Mississippians have Type 2 diabetes. This form of the disease is preventable! And people who have Type 2 diabetes can take some steps to reverse the effects of the disease.

Diabetes is a disease that prevents the body from properly using food for energy. It is characterized by high levels of blood glucose resulting from defects in either insulin production, insulin action, or both. There are different types of diabetes:

Type 1 Diabetes 

Type 1 Diabetes, which is also often referred to as “insulin-dependent” or “juvenile-onset” diabetes, requires injections of insulin on a regular basis—either through shots or with an insulin pump.

Type 1 Diabetes develops when the body's immune system destroys pancreatic beta cells, the only cells in the body that make the insulin. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes, which is also often referred to “non-insulin-dependent” or “adult-onset” diabetes, accounts for the vast majority of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.

This type of diabetes usually begins as insulin resistance, a disorder in which the cells do not use insulin properly.

As the need for insulin rises, the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce it.

Type 2 diabetes is often. but not always, associated with older age, a family history of diabetes or a history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, physical inactivity, and obesity.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational Diabetes is a form of glucose intolerance that occurs during a pregnancy.

It requires treatment to normalize maternal blood glucose levels so that complications that could affect the baby can be avoided.

Women who have had gestational diabetes are at greater risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes later in life.

12 Questions About Diabetes Answered