New figures show that global diabetes prevalence has increased by 16 percent in the past two years, with 537 million adults (aged 20–79) now estimated to be living with the chronic condition.
Over this same time period, COVID-19 has stopped us from doing some of the things that help prevent and manage diabetes. One of the ways it has done so is by causing an increase in sedentary behavior (sitting down for long periods of time), which was already at dangerous levels pre-COVID-19. Some estimates indicate that the pandemic added an average of three hours to our sitting time each day.