25.8 million children and adults in the United States—8.3% of the population—have diabetes. 1.9 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed in people aged 20 years and older in 2010.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches, and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.

In order to determine whether or not you have pre-diabetes or diabetes, health care providers conduct a Fasting Plasma Glucose Test (FPG) 
With the FPG test, a fasting blood glucose level between 100 and 125 mg/dl signals pre-diabetes. A person with a fasting blood glucose level of 126 mg/dl or higher has diabetes.
 
Major Types of Diabetes

• Type 1 diabetes
  • Results from the body's failure to produce insulin, the hormone that "unlocks" the cells of the body, allowing glucose to enter and fuel them. It is estimated that 5-10% of Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have type 1 diabetes.
• Type 2 diabetes
  • Results from insulin resistance (a condition in which the body fails to properly use insulin), combined with relative insulin deficiency. Most Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.
• Gestational diabetes
  • Gestational diabetes affects about 4% of all pregnant women - about 135,000 cases in the United States each year.
• Pre-diabetes
  • Pre-diabetes is a condition that occurs when a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. There are 54 million Americans who have pre-diabetes, in addition to the 20.8 million with diabetes.