More than 1 billion people are projected to have diabetes by 2050

The number of people worldwide with diabetes is projected to more than double in the next three decades, reaching 1.3 billion by 2050, according to research published in the Lancet.

The researchers found that 529 million people had diabetes in 2021 and that the climb in diabetes numbers would increase the prevalence of the disease from 6 percent of the world’s population to nearly 10 percent by 2050. The study’s findings are based on the analysis of data from more than 27,000 sources in 204 countries and territories.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 37 million people in the United States have diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic disease that develops when a person’s blood sugar (glucose) level is too high. Ideally, the body converts most of the food you eat into glucose and releases it into your bloodstream, and your pancreas releases insulin, a hormone, to help get the glucose into your cells for energy.