Diabetes is a long-lasting disease that affects how your body turns food into energy. Most of the food you eat is broken down into sugar that then goes to your bloodstream. Then your body produces insulin that acts like a key to let the blood sugar into your body's cells. When sugar cannot enter cells, this means:
- Too much glucose (blood sugar) collects in the blood
- The body's cells cannot use it for energy
If diabetes is not managed appropriately it can lead to health complications (heart attack, stroke, vision loss, kidney disease and limb amputations) or even death. In 2018, 1 in 9 (11.6%) of Kansas adults reported ever being diagnosed with diabetes. That is more than 250,000 Kansans.