2011 Assembly Joint Resolution 59
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: proclaiming Diabetes Awareness Month.
Whereas, diabetes is a serious, common, costly, yet controllable disease, affecting 25.8 million people in the United States, including over 475,000 Wisconsinites, and is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States; and
Whereas, diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin (Type 1 diabetes), or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced (Type 2 diabetes), and that these chronic conditions are manageable with changes to diet, exercise, and the use of insulin medications; and
Whereas, 79 million Americans have a condition known as pre-diabetes, which can lead to Type 2 diabetes, but that the onset can be prevented or delayed through lifestyle changes including regular exercise and a healthful diet; and
Whereas, people with diabetes are at increased risk of related complications including blindness, kidney disease, foot and leg amputations, cardiovascular disease, stroke, depression, and death from influenza and pneumonia; and
Whereas, diabetes is a significant driver of health care costs in the United States, where approximately one in five health care dollars is spent caring for someone with diagnosed diabetes, with the estimated direct (medical care) and indirect (lost productivity) economic costs of diabetes in Wisconsin totaling $6.10 billion; and
Whereas, education on diabetes self-management prevents hospitalizations, and every $1 invested in education can cut health care costs by nearly $9; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the
assembly, the senate concurring, That the Wisconsin legislature proclaims November 2011 to be Diabetes Awareness Month in Wisconsin and urges all the residents of our state to familiarize themselves with the risk factors associated with diabetes and the ways in which they can make healthy lifestyle choices to prevent or delay the onset of this common chronic condition.
