Last month was American Diabetes Month. Many of us know someone with diabetes, or suffer from it ourselves. More than 24 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes, and more than 57 million Americans are pre-diabetic.

Every 20 seconds, someone is diagnosed with diabetes. If current trends continue, one out of every three children faces a future with diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For the individuals involved and their families, diabetes is a daily struggle that can involve the loss of eyesight, amputations, or dangerous drops in blood sugar that can lead to coma and even death. Every day, nearly 200 people with diabetes undergo an amputation. Another 55 people each day become blind because of diabetes. Another 120 people daily enter end-stage kidney disease programs.

For employers and for society as a whole, the increasing number of diabetics means higher health care costs and lost productivity. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. It leads to heart complications, stroke and kidney disease. The United States spends $174 billion a year treating diabetes and its complications.

As devastating as diabetes can be, it is also an avoidable disease. During the month of November, the American Diabetes Association launched a movement called “Stop Diabetes,” with the goal of inspiring millions of people to take action against diabetes.

I encourage you to visit the American Diabetes Association website, at www.diabetes.org. to learn more about steps you and your family can take to prevent diabetes or reduce the impact of a diabetes diagnosis. You can find out what researchers are doing to help prevent and treat diabetes, as well as how to make living with diabetes easier.

One can avoid becoming a diabetes statistic, by following that tried and true formula for healthy living – eat right, exercise, and get enough rest. The American Diabetes Association website has recipes and fitness advice that can make nutrition and exercise become a part of our daily lives.

The steps we take today to prevent or stop diabetes may be the best gift that we can give to ourselves, our families and our friends this holiday season. Good health makes every day a joy – just ask someone who lives with a chronic disease like diabetes.