Diabetes Prevention

Diabetes is a serious health condition and a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to significant disability, including blindness, amputations, and kidney failure. 

In 2021, 3.2 million (10.8 percent) California adults had diabetes and 5.9 million (19.7 percent) were estimated to have prediabetes, and of those diagnosed, 80 percent take medication to treat their diabetes. Prediabetes and diabetes are prevalent among those who have low income, low education attainment, and people of color in California. In 2021, diabetes prevalence was two times higher among non- Hispanic African Americans, non- Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Natives and Hispanics, and one and half times higher among non-Hispanic Asians compared with non-Hispanic Whites. Prediabetes prevalence is more than one and half times higher among non- Hispanic African Americans, non-Hispanic Asians, and Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic Whites. In 2020, compared with non-Hispanic Whites, diabetes death was three times higher among non- Hispanic African Americans and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders, two times higher among non- Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Natives and Hispanics, and 1.2 times higher among non-Hispanic Asians. ​

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) oversees several ongoing activities that support the primary prevention of diabetes through the promotion of healthy eating, increased physical activity, tobacco cessation, and the prevention and control of overweight and obesity. Secondary prevention activities focus on evidence-based strategies to prevent or delay the onset of complications among Californians diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. CDPH is establishing a statewide network of evidence-based lifestyle change programs that are designed to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes among people at highest risk and prevent or delay the onset of complications among people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.